Moonshot: Inside Pfizer's Nine-Month Race to Make the Impossible Possible
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- Create Date：2022-05-21 06:53:50
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Albert Bourla
- ISBN：0063210797
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Summary
2022 Genesis Prize Laureate
The exclusive， first-hand， behind-the-scenes story of how Pfizer raced to create the first Covid-19 vaccine， told by Pfizer's Chairman and CEO Dr。 Albert Bourla。
A riveting， fast-paced， inside look at one of the most incredible private sector achievements in history， Moonshot recounts the intensive nine months in 2020 when the scientists at Pfizer， under the visionary leadership of Dr。 Albert Bourla， made "the impossible possible"--creating， testing， and manufacturing a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine that previously would have taken years to develop。
Dr。 Bourla chronicles how the brilliant， dedicated minds at Pfizer， under the enormous strains of the global pandemic， overcame a series of crises that were compounded by social and political unrest， and reveals the doubts， decisions， obstacles， and failures they encountered。 As Dr。 Bourla makes clear， Pfizer's success wasn't due to luck; it was because of preparation driven by four simple values--Courage， Excellence， Equity， and Joy。
Moonshot is a story of leadership under the most unprecedented circumstances--how Dr。 Bourla， a Greek immigrant， a child of Holocaust survivors， and a veterinarian， became the head of one of the world's largest corporations and initiated a dramatic transformation of the organization just before a global health crisis would serve to test the organization， its scientists， and its leader， like never before。 Moonshot describes best practices that can be used to address the multiple， unprecedented challenges our world faces， reveals Pfizer's implementation of scientific breakthroughs at a record-breaking pace， and offers leadership lessons that can help anyone successfully manage their own seemingly unsolvable problems。 As Dr。 Bourla explains， "I am sharing the story of our moonshot--the challenges we faced， the lessons we learned， and the core values that allowed us to make it happen--in hopes that it might inspire and inform your own moonshot， whatever that may be。"
The exclusive， first-hand， behind-the-scenes story of how Pfizer raced to create the first Covid-19 vaccine， told by Pfizer's Chairman and CEO Dr。 Albert Bourla。
A riveting， fast-paced， inside look at one of the most incredible private sector achievements in history， Moonshot recounts the intensive nine months in 2020 when the scientists at Pfizer， under the visionary leadership of Dr。 Albert Bourla， made "the impossible possible"--creating， testing， and manufacturing a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine that previously would have taken years to develop。
Dr。 Bourla chronicles how the brilliant， dedicated minds at Pfizer， under the enormous strains of the global pandemic， overcame a series of crises that were compounded by social and political unrest， and reveals the doubts， decisions， obstacles， and failures they encountered。 As Dr。 Bourla makes clear， Pfizer's success wasn't due to luck; it was because of preparation driven by four simple values--Courage， Excellence， Equity， and Joy。
Moonshot is a story of leadership under the most unprecedented circumstances--how Dr。 Bourla， a Greek immigrant， a child of Holocaust survivors， and a veterinarian， became the head of one of the world's largest corporations and initiated a dramatic transformation of the organization just before a global health crisis would serve to test the organization， its scientists， and its leader， like never before。 Moonshot describes best practices that can be used to address the multiple， unprecedented challenges our world faces， reveals Pfizer's implementation of scientific breakthroughs at a record-breaking pace， and offers leadership lessons that can help anyone successfully manage their own seemingly unsolvable problems。 As Dr。 Bourla explains， "I am sharing the story of our moonshot--the challenges we faced， the lessons we learned， and the core values that allowed us to make it happen--in hopes that it might inspire and inform your own moonshot， whatever that may be。"
Reviews
Ctobin1
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Didn't finish it Didn't finish it 。。。more
Kanchan Mandanekar
，
What's a Moonshot？'Moonshot' originally meant aiming for the moon or "long shot"。 Off late， it's increasingly being used to describe a monumental effort and a lofty goal—in other words， a "giant leap。"This book is Pfizer's moonshot under the leadership of Dr。 Albert Bourla to save the world from the pandemic。 To deliver on his purpose of saving patient lives， his leadership inspires us in many ways。 I have tried to capture a few ways:1。 If you want to deliver at lightspeed in a matrix organizati What's a Moonshot？'Moonshot' originally meant aiming for the moon or "long shot"。 Off late， it's increasingly being used to describe a monumental effort and a lofty goal—in other words， a "giant leap。"This book is Pfizer's moonshot under the leadership of Dr。 Albert Bourla to save the world from the pandemic。 To deliver on his purpose of saving patient lives， his leadership inspires us in many ways。 I have tried to capture a few ways:1。 If you want to deliver at lightspeed in a matrix organization， you will need to find ways to reach decisions among peers who disagree。 The book simplifies it for us with many stories of purpose driven decisions。2。 Corporations play a vital role as engines of creativity and avenues of opportunity。 The book bursts the myths of the "dark side" of big fat pharma companies。3。 Big purposes sit on strong cultures。 Cultures based on innovation， digital technologies and research。All in all， this is a great "business novel" based on a real life story。 It's gripping， exciting and inspiring。 By the end of the book， the reader is left with a simple （not easy） question - What's your moonshot？ 。。。more
PottWab Regional Library
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SM
Nafisa Tasnim
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#pfizerproud #sciencewillwin
Lois Whiteheaf
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This is an incredible book in learning all the details behind the launch of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine。
Jennifer
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Firstly， I am a （25 year） Pfizer colleague。 The views expressed here are completely my own。 I did not work on the COVID-19 vaccine project。 I found this book incredibly moving and inspiring。 Hearing from our CEO about what occurred behind the scenes to facilitate the development and then Emergency Use Authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine in 9 months was fascinating （and subsequent full BLA approval）。 Albert Bourla is incredibly impressive， and it’s an honor to work for him。I respect and admire Firstly， I am a （25 year） Pfizer colleague。 The views expressed here are completely my own。 I did not work on the COVID-19 vaccine project。 I found this book incredibly moving and inspiring。 Hearing from our CEO about what occurred behind the scenes to facilitate the development and then Emergency Use Authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine in 9 months was fascinating （and subsequent full BLA approval）。 Albert Bourla is incredibly impressive， and it’s an honor to work for him。I respect and admire his transparency about the stress he felt， how he took it out on his team， and his resultant （poor） leadership scores。 I found it heartwarming to read of the data analyst who lost WiFi at home and worked outside a gas station at 2 am with a police escort to crunch data from the pivotal clinical trial。 And it was heartbreaking to read the story of his parents’ experiences during WWII as Jews in Greece。As a colleague said to me， Albert Bourla is “a force of nature”。 I am so proud to work for him and for Pfizer。#PFEcolleague #PFEproud #ScienceWillWin 。。。more
Susan
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Reading this book made me emotional several times。 It is a tremendous achievement， and we get a glimpse of the inside story from Pfizer on how everything came together。 From research， phased clinical trials， manufacturing， navigating the messy political world and trying to ensure equitable distribution， 9 months was an incredible timeline and internally referred to as Project Lightspeed。 I found Pfizer’s conversations with political leaders really interesting， especially the Trump Administration Reading this book made me emotional several times。 It is a tremendous achievement， and we get a glimpse of the inside story from Pfizer on how everything came together。 From research， phased clinical trials， manufacturing， navigating the messy political world and trying to ensure equitable distribution， 9 months was an incredible timeline and internally referred to as Project Lightspeed。 I found Pfizer’s conversations with political leaders really interesting， especially the Trump Administration’s handling of the situation。 I think towards the end of the book some parts felt a bit fluffy， like Pfizer’s commitments， the importance of science， etc， and it sounded like a corporate CEO talking missions statements。 But overall it was a really enjoyable read。 。。。more
Mary Crotty
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really interesting - buy maybe just because I work there
Miguel
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A bit of a letdown considering this is an extremely biased view of the development of the Pfizer / Biontech vaccine from the CEO viewpoint。 It reads mostly like an internal corporate memo / propaganda pice and 3 stars is a bit of a stretch; however， there is info presented on drug discovery and an inside view was not necessarily completely devoid of interesting tidbits。
Linda Robertson
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Makes Pfizer look good。 But they are still a drug company and not our friend。
Peg Albrets
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Really fascinating！
Brian
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Working there now🙂
Preeti Ravishankar
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A simple account of the process and perspectives behind the Pfizer vaccine rollout - one of the biggest achievements of modern science。
Alonso Gómez Payró
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Great insights from the author's perspective as Pfizer’s CEO。 Key decisions he to be made with no time to waste。 Proof humans can do anything under pressure and with inspiration 。 Great insights from the author's perspective as Pfizer’s CEO。 Key decisions he to be made with no time to waste。 Proof humans can do anything under pressure and with inspiration 。 。。。more
Tracy
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Admittedly I’m a bit biased， but thought this was an excellent peak ‘behind the scenes。’
Chris Basoglu
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Great story about how the Pfizer CEO galvanized his team and worked with world leaders to create the COVID vaccine in record time under record stress。 Could have used a bit more detail about mRNA and more detail about the team dynamics and various failures along the way。
Czyta_bo_lubi
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Opinia mojej lubej:Czy książka w całości poświęcona szczepionce może być ciekawa？ O dziwo tak， połowicznie， ale tak。Doktor Albert Bourla， prezes i dyrektor generalny firmy Pfizer w swojej książce opisuje， jak w kilka miesięcy można dosłownie zmienić świat。 Wydawać by się mogło， że skoro wszyscy tak naprawdę wiemy， że szczepionka okazała się ogromnym sukcesem， to z książki nie wyniesiemy niczego nowego， ot kilka suchych naukowych faktów， tabelek i zestawień。 Jednak narracja prowadzona jest w tak Opinia mojej lubej:Czy książka w całości poświęcona szczepionce może być ciekawa？ O dziwo tak， połowicznie， ale tak。Doktor Albert Bourla， prezes i dyrektor generalny firmy Pfizer w swojej książce opisuje， jak w kilka miesięcy można dosłownie zmienić świat。 Wydawać by się mogło， że skoro wszyscy tak naprawdę wiemy， że szczepionka okazała się ogromnym sukcesem， to z książki nie wyniesiemy niczego nowego， ot kilka suchych naukowych faktów， tabelek i zestawień。 Jednak narracja prowadzona jest w taki sposób， że z zapartym tchem oczekujemy na werdykt — jak wysoka jest skuteczność szczepionki？ Czy wszystkie te wysiłki i poświęcenia nie poszły na marne？ Świeżo upieczony dyrektor generalny znalazł się w ekstremalnej sytuacji， która wymagała natychmiastowego i zdecydowanego działania。 Nie było czasu na kompromisy i chwilę zawahania。 Trzeba było szybko podjąć decyzję – leczyć czy zapobiegać？ Opisuje， przed jakimi decyzjami stanął on oraz cała grupa naukowców， ile kosztowało to wysiłku， kreatywnego i nieszablonowego myślenia， poświęceń finansowych i nieprzespanych nocy。 Wszystkim im przyświecał jeden cel – dobro ogółu。 Do momentu ogłoszenia wyników jak wysoka jest skuteczność szczepionki， książka była naprawdę porywająca， niestety później tempo zwolniło。 Medycznych ciekawostek było coraz mniej， a na ich miejsce wpadły statystyki zachorowań， jak budować zaufanie publiczne， jak o firmie piszą w mediach i wiele podziękowań。 Wszystko to sprawiło， że entuzjazm opadł， a lektura się dłużyła。Niemniej jednak uważam， że jest to bardzo ciekawa pozycja， otwierająca oczy i dająca nadzieję， że nawet w tak skrajnych i beznadziejnych sytuacjach można znaleźć rozwiązanie。 Książka dla każdego， tym bardziej że temat dotyczy nas wszystkich。 。。。more
CKG
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I was more moved by this than I expected to be。 It’s an incredible story。 We’re already habituated to having vaccines easily accessible， but this is a reminder of how improbable and impressive that feat of ingenuity was。 It make a good movie （a better one would be more expansive to include the narratives on multiple vaccine producing orgs， to see the different decisions and probabilities play out） with all the drama and heroics we expect of sports movies， but with scientists as heroes。
Pat Mccann
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I finished reading @AlbertBourla’s “Moonshot” yesterday。 It is an amazing and inspiring story even for those of us who lived it。 However， there is so much more in this book that I didn’t know。 I was well aware of the amazing story about the development of the vaccine because， early on， I was responsible for providing information on clinical sites before we could spin up automated dashboards。 A colleague and I even had to devise a risk assessment for clinical sites （and potential loss of power an I finished reading @AlbertBourla’s “Moonshot” yesterday。 It is an amazing and inspiring story even for those of us who lived it。 However， there is so much more in this book that I didn’t know。 I was well aware of the amazing story about the development of the vaccine because， early on， I was responsible for providing information on clinical sites before we could spin up automated dashboards。 A colleague and I even had to devise a risk assessment for clinical sites （and potential loss of power and therefore the low temp freezers） in advance of hurricanes。 However， the stories of pricing， manufacturing， and distribution were incredible。I am so proud to have been able to contribute in some small way and even more proud of all the work that the entire Pfizer organization accomplished while continuing to provide other amazing breakthroughs that changed patients’ lives。 This is a great read for everyone， not just Pharma industry professionals or other business professionals。 The general public should read and understand what it took to bring this world-saving vaccine to their arms。 I retired from Pfizer in May of 2021 and I know this story is continuing to unfold， but this book almost made me want to go back… almost😉Former #PFEcolleague always #PfizerProud #ScienceWillWin always。 。。。more
Marks54
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This book tells the story of how Pfizer and its partner BioNTech developed their MRNA based vaccine against COVID-19。 It is told by Pfizer’s CEO - Dr。 Albert Bourla。 The book is a positive largely chronological narrative organized by chapters that focus on the particular issues of interest at the time during the first year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic。 It is a spellbinding account， although I suspect almost everybody how how things turned out。It is easy to fail to appreciate just how tita This book tells the story of how Pfizer and its partner BioNTech developed their MRNA based vaccine against COVID-19。 It is told by Pfizer’s CEO - Dr。 Albert Bourla。 The book is a positive largely chronological narrative organized by chapters that focus on the particular issues of interest at the time during the first year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic。 It is a spellbinding account， although I suspect almost everybody how how things turned out。It is easy to fail to appreciate just how titanic an achievement this effort was。 Successful vaccines took years and years to develop while this effort took the better part of a year。 The MRNA technology - used by Pfizer and Moderna - was itself almost completely new， especially for vaccine development。 The production and logistics/distribution details of the effort posed similarly huge and unprecedented challenges。 Then add to all of this the nearly complete politicization of the virus and you have to wonder how any vaccine was developed。 For the last comparable threat to global health - the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu， the death toll was huge but there weren’t any vaccines。 The technology was not there to identify the pathogen much less do anything about it。It is really amazing。So if Dr。 Bourla wants to write a detailed account of the company effort on the vaccine and its distribution， that is fine with me。 The entire book is very readable and clear for non-scientists — although I must admit that my eyes started getting foggy in the discussion of the production processes for mass producing the vaccine。 Bourla does a good job of tying in his personal history and providing some background on his management team and family， although not too much。 He us also good at ty\ing in the business aspects of process， especially on topics such as international pricing and the details of different contractual agreements。 The political and international aspects of the vaccine are strong points of the book， as is the discussion of the important relationship with Israel in generating important research findings。 The concluding chapters try to link the search for the vaccine in OWS （Operation Warp Speed） with broader issues linking medical research， biopharma， and the COVID crisis。 This gets away from the central narrative line of the book and follows predictable lines about integrating medical research and tech developments， the importance of digital technology and telemedicine， and the prospects for improvements through smarter regulations。 These are all interesting areas， but they were important before COVID。 The book could have actually done more with analyzing how COVID disrupted conventional health care along with broader business areas and major health care providers ended up suffering from the loss of their regular business addressing chronic conditions and regularly scheduled processes。 Why go to the hospital and catch COVID？The story is continuing， of course。 I just received my second booster （Pfizer， of course） and life is only starting to return to normal in Spring 2022。 I hope it stays that way。I know that the pandemic has been especially well covered in the popular media， especially the NYT and the WAPO， but this book recounts a key part of the first year of the pandemic from a knowledgeable insider who is committed to transparency。 Even if one knows the basic story， this fine book is well worth reading。 。。。more
Phil Busch
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A great， fast read。 I enjoyed hearing Dr。 Bourla’s point of view on the historical time we have all just lived through。 His strategy of shredding internal bureaucracy at Pfizer to develop the vaccine was a great formula for getting big things done in corporate America。 Bring the right people together， set the bar high， and communicate often about the right things。 I also enjoyed hearing how he managed relationships with political figures worldwide， government agencies， and even Pfizer’s competit A great， fast read。 I enjoyed hearing Dr。 Bourla’s point of view on the historical time we have all just lived through。 His strategy of shredding internal bureaucracy at Pfizer to develop the vaccine was a great formula for getting big things done in corporate America。 Bring the right people together， set the bar high， and communicate often about the right things。 I also enjoyed hearing how he managed relationships with political figures worldwide， government agencies， and even Pfizer’s competition。 The relationships he fostered did not need to be perfect all the time。 They only needed to be effective at the right times。 。。。more
Ben
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Bourla's perspective， as Pfizer's CEO， gives him a very different perspective on the race to develop and deliver a Covid vaccine。 While it is from a high level， there are enough details， from a wide enough variety of areas， that the story remains interesting， complementary to the other vaccine books I've read recently。 While the content and tone is mostly good， Bourla does occasionally come across as a bit of a slime。 For example， when he complains about news of his stock sales， he neglects to m Bourla's perspective， as Pfizer's CEO， gives him a very different perspective on the race to develop and deliver a Covid vaccine。 While it is from a high level， there are enough details， from a wide enough variety of areas， that the story remains interesting， complementary to the other vaccine books I've read recently。 While the content and tone is mostly good， Bourla does occasionally come across as a bit of a slime。 For example， when he complains about news of his stock sales， he neglects to mention his $25 million/year compensation。 He talks about the need for shared sacrifice， while the only sacrifice he can name for himself is taking phone calls from prime Ministers occasionally at odd hours。 I am sympathetic to the drug industry， but his arguments for higher drug prices are also fairly tone deaf。> We will move materials for our existing product out of our current warehouses to temporary locations and convert these warehouses to freezer farms， each the size of a football field。” “Freezer farms？” I asked。 “Yes， freezer farms。 We will install five hundred big freezers that each has the capacity to store three hundred thousand doses。 In total we can store over one hundred million doses there。 We will do the same in our manufacturing site in Belgium for the European production。”> We huddled together as a team， studying the data we had and projecting what was possible。 Even though there was a lot of white space in the second puzzle， it appeared to be more promising。 With our original deadline approaching， we decided to wait another week for more data， because we sensed that the choice we made would make a huge difference in the success of the vaccine。 Postponing our deadline by a week on this project was a very big decision> We jumped from our chairs and started celebrating。 Sally， Doug， and Yolanda were screaming。 I felt like I was wearing one of those wingsuits， flying above mountains and green valleys。 … As we toasted this amazing moment， I remember my eyes being drawn to the two Pfizer executive protection officers who were with us that day。 They were silent as they usually are， but they had realized what was happening， and you could feel that they were seriously moved。 One of them almost had tears in his eyes。> I started receiving news that President Trump was extremely dissatisfied with Pfizer and me personally because the results had come after the November 3 election。 He was forming an opinion that this was done on purpose to hurt him and that if we’d wanted， we could have had the results before the elections。 The same sources were telling me that Health and Human Services Secretary Azar was thinking the same and was among the people who kept feeding the president’s anger。 … President Trump never called me， either to thank Pfizer or to complain。> After we announced the results of our Phase 3 study on November 9， the stock crossed the limit price at one point during that day， and Fidelity executed the sale automatically。 I was not even aware that the sale was executed for an additional day until Fidelity informed me about the transaction。 Once this information became public， the same TV shows and newspapers that had been glorifying me two days before started casting doubts， as if my sale were motivated by something I’d known would happen on November 9。 I was not used to this kind of attention， and I was devastated。 I could feel for the first time in my life the other side of being a public figure， and how fast things can change， even if just two days ago you “saved the world。” 。。。more
Paul G。 Caron
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Books 2022#27: Moonshot: Inside Pfizer's Nine-Month Race to Make the Impossible Possible by Dr。 Albert Bourla。When you think that a Covid-19 vaccine can be developed in nine months without cutting corners in the scientific process， it's pretty amazing。 The fact that not only Pfizer but also other companies were able to do so shows that goals can be reached despite competition， political interference and ego。For those flat-earthers out there， sorry but science wins out。 It probably doesn't procee Books 2022#27: Moonshot: Inside Pfizer's Nine-Month Race to Make the Impossible Possible by Dr。 Albert Bourla。When you think that a Covid-19 vaccine can be developed in nine months without cutting corners in the scientific process， it's pretty amazing。 The fact that not only Pfizer but also other companies were able to do so shows that goals can be reached despite competition， political interference and ego。For those flat-earthers out there， sorry but science wins out。 It probably doesn't proceed as quickly as you would want it but it will get there。There are also many lessons learned and still being learned that can be used in battling future diseases including cancer and heart ailments。 We may not see a final resolution in our lifetime （well， at least in mine）， but there is hope that it will happen。This is a good behind the scenes story and an entertaining one as well。 Unless you believe that the vaccine will cause testicular ballooning。Four out of five stars。 。。。more
Sonali Ekka
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Pfizer CEO's first - hand narrative of Pfizer's Covid vaccine journey beginning from when their decision to create a drug vs a vaccine， to the company's bold & ambitious targets to: a） use an unproven mRNA technology， the first of its kind in the world， b） race against all odds to create a vaccine in a record time， c） develop capabilities in manufacturing & supply chain & finally d） advocate & negotiate with global leaders for equity in distribution。 Pfizer showed commendable actions in patient Pfizer CEO's first - hand narrative of Pfizer's Covid vaccine journey beginning from when their decision to create a drug vs a vaccine， to the company's bold & ambitious targets to: a） use an unproven mRNA technology， the first of its kind in the world， b） race against all odds to create a vaccine in a record time， c） develop capabilities in manufacturing & supply chain & finally d） advocate & negotiate with global leaders for equity in distribution。 Pfizer showed commendable actions in patient - centricity， innovation， scientific rigour & fairness which are accurately described in this book。 Moonshot is written for a diverse audience， it's neither too technical， nor too emotional。 It perfectly balances the intricacies & challenges of vaccine development & distribution， explaining how the pandemic & ensuing lockdowns made this difficult task even more arduous。 But Dr。 Bourla also shares the humane side of Pfizer， from driving home the focus on patients by evoking his team's own loved ones， their arrangements to keep contract workers employed irrespective of work， and the CEO's continuous ask to provide the vaccine to the poorest countries。 ttPharma cos。 are notorious for fleecing money， but Moonshot describes how Pfizer invested heavily， without a second thought， on creating their Covid vaccine。 The portions on Pfizer's covid vaccine pricing strategy & repeated mention of Dr。 Bourla's discussions for a fair vaccine distribution may make this book seem like the company's attempt at PR， but Dr。 Bourla has also repeatedly justified & supported the importance of patents。ttWhile we all know vaccine & drug development involves science， but we always think of tech companies when we say the word "innovation"。 But Moonshot shows the sheer ingenuity & innovation applied at almost all steps from research & clinical trials， manufacturing， storage， till the last mile delivery & even administration of the vaccine。Covid was an acid test for leaders of all nations， companies & institutions， & Dr。 Bourla & his team demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities。 Also notable are the leadership of some countries mentioned， but what surprised me most was how the leader of the Navajo Nation appreciated the importance of the covid vaccine & fully supported Pfizer to ensure a good representation of his people during the clinical trials。 This book may not convert you into a pharma enthusiast， but one wouldn't fail to admire & applaud the tremendous team effort， dedication & courage taken to achieve an impossible sounding goal。 。。。more
Dogsandbooks
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The rough draft of history as it happens。 Corporate self congratulatory but oh what a story。 What a miracle。 There will be more versions and more voices to tell this story but it is absolutely astonishing。 Miraculous。 Inspiring and hopeful。 Science wins。
Christophe
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Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla tells a riveting account of the race to a COVID-19 vaccine， from the perspective of the pharmaceutical giant。 The company went all in in face of the pandemic and successfully delivered a vaccine in less than a year， an unprecedented feat。 This book is the story of the excruciating decisions that had to be made early on， of the many challenges that had to be overcome， and of a CEO pushing an entire company toward excellence。 It is a compelling story in many ways， and the Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla tells a riveting account of the race to a COVID-19 vaccine， from the perspective of the pharmaceutical giant。 The company went all in in face of the pandemic and successfully delivered a vaccine in less than a year， an unprecedented feat。 This book is the story of the excruciating decisions that had to be made early on， of the many challenges that had to be overcome， and of a CEO pushing an entire company toward excellence。 It is a compelling story in many ways， and the urgency of the situation is vividly conveyed in a clear and direct style。 Instead of spending time on scientific aspects， the author emphasizes the leadership， logistical， and political challenges that he faced。 Especially interesting was how the CEO navigated the ethical and political aspects of allocating doses of a life-saving vaccine in short supply。 Bourla uses this opportunity to set the record straight about Pfizer’s interactions with Operation Warp Speed and the Trump administration， as well as to advocate for a strong private sector fueled by the respect of intellectual property。 He admits his own mistakes and shares personal details throughout the book， making this account more relatable than most memoirs from CEOs。 Bourla is guilty of self-promotion quite often， but it is forgivable considering the enormous accomplishment delivered by Pfizer under his leadership。 There is historical value to this story， with lessons about the need to reinvent ourselves in the face of adversity， to achieve what was thought impossible。 。。。more
Taivo
，
Pfizer's glorification， politics， corporate operations， and other high level stuff。 Very little to none technical stuff。 Pfizer's glorification， politics， corporate operations， and other high level stuff。 Very little to none technical stuff。 。。。more
Jeffrey Jose
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The book has 2 distinct sections。 The first half is the moonshot story you're expecting to read。 Working against time， making every day count as hundreds of people fall sick and die all around the world， taking bold （and educated） risks in pursuit of a novel vaccine against COVID。The second half gets into negotiations， politics and logistics of how to get the vaccines into the hands of countries all around the world。 IMO， Albert Bourla did a tremendous job shepherding his company to deliver some The book has 2 distinct sections。 The first half is the moonshot story you're expecting to read。 Working against time， making every day count as hundreds of people fall sick and die all around the world， taking bold （and educated） risks in pursuit of a novel vaccine against COVID。The second half gets into negotiations， politics and logistics of how to get the vaccines into the hands of countries all around the world。 IMO， Albert Bourla did a tremendous job shepherding his company to deliver something the whole world was waiting for， and that's not a small feat。 I teared up a little in the first half of the book。The very last chapter could have been cut， and it has nothing to do with COVID or vaccine， but his vision for how we （pharma， biotech， countries and patients） can work together。 。。。more
Sue
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Excellent look at how the team at Pfizer worked to develop a vaccine for Covid-19。
Melissa Greenberg Cannon
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