ABOUT US

From our sub-Saharan Africa headquarters located in Johannesburg, South Africa, for more than 70 years, Pfizer has been delivering life-changing breakthroughs to the people of South Africa. Guided by our values and the three pillars of innovation, investing and safeguarding, we work with Healthcare Practitioners, Policy Makers, Patient Groups and other members of civil society to serve the communities in which we live and work, broadening access to medicines and strengthening healthcare delivery for the people who need it most.

Living our values of courage, excellence, equity and joy, we are a diverse team of about 250 people working daily to provide all South Africans with access to global scientific innovation that can help them to live longer, better lives. Through our commitment to the national agenda, we are contributing to the development of a strong healthcare system, as well as growth of the knowledge economy in the interest of those who need to be empowered today and to the benefit of the generations to come. 

PFIZER’S GLOBAL RESEARCH

Pfizer’s global research focus is on cancer and respiratory diseases, which together account for 18% of deaths in South Africa.

ANTIFUNGAL PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME

We established the Antifungal Partnership programme to address associated fungal infections among people living with HIV. Since its inception, we have donated almost $1.5 billion dollars’ worth of medicine to 63 countries in the world. This includes 1.3 million units of medication to South African patients.

LIFE UNCENSORED

We established Life Uncensored, a patient-centred digital platform that creates a safe space for patients to seek credible medical information on sensitive topics related to men and women’s health. Since its inception, we have reached over 2.9 million people, earning multiple global accolades.

INVESTING IN DIVERSITY

Diversity makes us stronger. In support of societal transformation, we have committed ourselves to a journey of diversity and inclusion. We continually invest in our people and strive to ensure that our workforce is representative of the demographics of societies in which we operate. More than 60% of Pfizer’s leadership team is black and over 60% are women. Nearly three quarters (74%) of our entire workforce is made up of women.

DEVELOPMENT OF CLINICAL RESEARCH

We focus on contributing to the development of clinical research across our portfolio to get breakthroughs to our patients quicker. To achieve this, we commissioned 22 clinical trials in nine therapeutic areas in 2019. These were conducted across 85 investigator sites, enrolling almost 1,000 patients in total. South Africa is also 1 of 6 global sites selected for a Phase 3 trial of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

PUBLIC HEALTH ENHANCEMENT FUND

With South Africa facing a significant shortage of doctors and specialists who can treat the most pressing diseases, we have joined forces with key partners across industry and government through the Public Health Enhancement Fund (PHEF). In just a short space of time, the PHEF has produced 60 medical students, 20 PhD studies, and 7 MSc studies.

INVESTING IN PRIMARY HEALTHCARE

Our investment in Unjani Clinics helps to ensure sustainable access to health for patients in resource constrained settings. We have helped to establish four clinics and supported a further 58 clinics with equipment. The initiative has created more 70 professional ‘nurse-preneurs’, resulting in permanent employment for at least 230 people, and has reached over one million patients to date.

INVESTING IN ANTI-MICROBIAL STEWARDSHIP

Microbial resistance has been identified as one the biggest threats to public health. Investing in anti-microbial resistance is key to establishing a sustainable healthcare system. In response to this global threat, Pfizer has invested in ATLAS, a global data surveillance app that physicians around the world can use to look up regional patterns of resistance to antibiotics. Understanding these patterns of resistance enables doctors to stay abreast of trends in antibiotic resistance as they emerge and ensures that we are better equipped to protect future generations from AMR threats.

SUPPORTING LOCAL VACCINE MANUFACTURING

We have supported local vaccines manufacturing through the Biovac Technology Transfer partnership to promote security of supply of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines and contribute to job creation and the knowledge economy. By 2021, one million units of life-saving pneumococcal conjugate vaccines a year will be locally manufactured to protect South African children as part of the expanded programme on immunisation.

IMPROVING VACCINES COVERAGE

More than one million infants, young children and adults were vaccinated with PCV13 in SSA in 2019. To improve vaccine uptake, Pfizer has partnered with the National Department of Health (NDOH), the Wits Health Consortium and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) to conduct a country-wide immunization coverage survey.

EXPANDED PROGRAMME ON IMMUNISATION

In the face of COVID-19, many parents have become fearful of taking their children for their routine immunisations. In partnership with the NDOH and industry partners, Pfizer is supporting a mass media demand creation campaign for the Expanded Programme on Immunisation(EPI).

At Pfizer, our purpose is to bring breakthrough’s that change patients’ lives. But breakthroughs are not only scientific; they are also logistical, technological and operational so we can deliver our breakthrough medicines and vaccines into more patients’ hands across the world even faster and to deliver on these breakthroughs requires a breakthrough mindset. It is for this reason that Pfizer has identified courage, excellence, equity and joy as its core values that will enable our purpose-driven growth strategy. Informed by these values our diverse team works daily to provide all South Africans with access to global scientific innovation that can help them to live longer, better lives.

​​​​​​​Breakthroughs start by challenging convention...especially in the face of uncertainty or adversity.
​​​​​​​This happens when we think big, speak up and are decisive. 
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Every person deserves to be seen, heard and cared for. 

This happens when we are inclusive, act with integrity, and reduce healthcare disparities.

​​​​​​​We can only change patients' lives when we perform at our best together. 

This happens when we focus on what matters agree who does what, and measure outcomes

​​​​​​​We give ourselves to our work, and it also gives to us. 

We find joy when we take pride, recognize one another, and have fun.

Pfizer South Africa’s Biopharmaceutical Division is part of globally renowned Pfizer Inc., the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company, whose history dates to the 1880s.

2020

Pfizer South Africa won the Equal Representation and Participation Category at the Gender Mainstreaming Awards, 2020.

Pfizer was selected as second finalist in the Women in Executive Committees in Multinationals category and were selected as a joint third finalist in the Investing in Young Women category

Pfizer announces it plans to sell two assets to the Mylan-Upjohn spinoff, which will be named Viatris

2019

Pfizer unveils its joint venture with GlaxoSmithKline for its Consumer Health Division

Pfizer’s anti-pneumonia Prevnar 13 vaccine (PCV-13) to be produced in South Africa by 2021.

2017

Pfizer and Unjani Clinic partners to establish 6 more clinics in Township Areas

2015

Pfizer and the Biovac institute launch partnership to manufacture pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in South Africa.

2009

Pfizer acquires Wyeth, creating a company with a broad range of products and therapies that touch the lives of patients and consumers every day and at every stage of life.

2000

Pfizer partnered with the SA Department of Health by donating treatments for two opportunistic fungal infections associated with HIV and AIDS (cryptococcal meningitis and esophageal candidiasis).

February 2000 saw Pfizer Inc., including the South African operations, merge with Warner-Lambert Company, making the South African operation one of the top 5 pharmaceutical companies in South Africa.

1999

Pfizer celebrates its 150th anniversary as one of the world's premier pharmaceutical companies. Recognized for its success in discovering and developing innovative drugs for human discovery, Forbes® magazine names Pfizer Inc. "Company of the Year."

1969

Veterinary pharmaceuticals, including injectable products for animals, were manufactured in the same facility and in 1969 an additional unit was added to manufacture other agricultural products, including sheep dips. The facility was also expanded to accommodate the manufacture of consumer products like Choats and TCP.

1969

Veterinary pharmaceuticals, including injectable products for animals, were manufactured in the same facility and in 1969 an additional unit was added to manufacture other agricultural products, including sheep dips. The facility was also expanded to accommodate the manufacture of consumer products like Choats and TCP.

1967

In 1967, the Johannesburg office became the regional headquarters for Southern Africa, controlling operations in South Africa, Rhodesia, Angola, Mozambique and South-West Africa. A manufacturing plant in Pietermaritzburg, commissioned in January 1968, marked the completion of the first phase of a long-term investment programme in South Africa.
​​​​​​​The plant, set up at a cost of R1.8 million included a manufacturing unit to produce sterile, topical and oral dosage forms and a highly sophisticated quality control laboratory.

1953

In 1953 Pfizer set up its own promotional activity in South Africa, starting with pharmaceutical products. It soon entered the agricultural sector, with a limited range of Terramycin dosage forms. The company employed two representatives, which was increased to six in 1954, including one in the then-Rhodesia. In 1957 Pfizer launched its Agriculture Division in Newtown, Johannesburg, with seven employees.

1951

Pfizer actually entered the South African market in 1951, when Petersen Limited, a Cape Town based firm of manufacturing chemists was awarded the agency for the distribution of Pfizer's pharmaceutical products. Terramycin, the first broad-spectrum antibiotic which had been discovered in 1949 was the key product distributed by Petersen.

1849

In 1849, cousins Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart founded Charles Pfizer & Company in a red brick building in Brooklyn, NY.