With a staff of 420 and a target of 500 by the end of 2023, Pfizer Center for Digital Innovation (CDI) in Thessaloniki “launches” more than 200 high-tech projects (quantum computing, machine learning, etc.), many of which contribute to the acceleration of drug research and discovery, global product development and supply chain improvement. At an event marking the two-year CDI course, Nico Gariboldi, head of Pfizer’s Digital Innovation Center, said that while the original plan was to hire 200 people, the Digital Innovation Center now employs 420 people. By the end of 2022, their number will increase to 450, and by the end of 2023 – to 500.

The company has received 20,000 resumes from scientists, and Mr. Gariboldi stressed that scientists are very interested in working for CDI. 75% of employees have a master’s degree, 87% specialize in the very popular STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) field, and 35% are women, with a company average of 15%. At the same time, 15% of those hired lived abroad, among them Greeks. Summarizing CDI’s two years of progress, Mr. Gariboldi emphasized that Pfizer is prioritizing digital technologies to support drug discovery, predictive modeling for drug manufacturing, improved doctor-patient communication, and more. a. At the same time, he referred to the coronavirus vaccine, saying that 14,000 patients took part in clinical trials conducted in 150 units in different countries. “Thanks to digital technology, we have coordinated this in a safe and efficient way.” The main reason why Thessaloniki was chosen was the talent, the high level of universities, the startup ecosystem, the strong digital policy, as well as their geographic location, as it is between East and West and facilitates communication in different countries. geographic zones. According to the IOBE study, each position created at the center will generate 2.3 positions in the Greek economy, and by 2030 the center is expected to increase GDP by 486 million euros.

75% of employees have advanced degrees, and 15% of those hired lived abroad, including Greeks.

The collaboration that CDI has established over the past two years to implement various projects is also strong, both with university institutions such as AUTH and the University of Patras, and with research centers such as EKETA. It is noted that they were selected after an evaluation of more than 100 research groups. For example, a research group at the University of Patras, in collaboration with CDI, is developing an application that uses voice to continuously monitor and diagnose patients with problems such as respiratory problems. Sotiris Nicoletsias, Professor, Director of the IoT-Lab at the University of Patras, noted that such synergy can fill the gap that exists between scientific research and business decisions. CDI has also joined forces with EKETA to create an intelligent application, an intelligent agent, that will automate communication between patients and healthcare professionals. In addition to universities, Pfizer is opening doors to startups through competitions and accelerator programs like start4health, and is developing partnerships with industry startups like Docandu, e-Nios, and Medoid AI.