Pull Up a Chair with Dr. Freire: The COVID Conversations

Listen in as Dr. Maria Freire explores the work of Dr. Paul Stoffels, Johnson & Johnson’s Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer, and his team as they have worked since April 2020 developing COVID-19 vaccines and monitoring emerging variants. Along with Dr. Francis Collins, Director of NIH, Dr. Stoffels co-chairs Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV), the historic public-private partnership created to combat COVID-19 on all fronts.

In this episode, Dr. Maria Freire sits down with Dr. Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Learn how the CDC evaluates data when issuing guidance to the public, as well as its role in surveillance of new COVID-19 variants. According to Dr. Schuchat, “It’s part of our national security to worry about these pathogens around the world, and nothing has illustrated this more clearly than COVID-19."

What is ACTIV and why is it so important to the public? Listen as Dr. Maria Freire, President and Executive Director of the FNIH sits down with David Wholley, the FNIH's Senior Vice President of Research Partnerships, to tell the story of how the Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) partnership came together with urgency to address the COVID-19 crisis. Learn about how the FNIH guided the efforts of multiple U.S. government agencies, not-for-profit organizations and industry partners, all working together to develop COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

Dr. Freire sits down with Dr. Mikael Dolsten, Chief Scientific Officer and President of Worldwide Research, Development and Medical of Pfizer, Inc. They explore the approach to and challenges associated with developing the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID 19 vaccine, research efforts on potential treatments and promising new therapeutics for the future.

Dr. Freire engages in a conversation with Dr. Francis Collins, NIH Director, around the incredible acceleration of biomedical research that was needed to get ahead of the COVID-19 crisis. They describe how the historic Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) partnership convened government agencies, not-for-profit organizations and 20 pharmaceutical companies to research successful therapeutics and vet promising vaccines.

Dr. Freire hosts an engaging and informative conversation with two scientists from Bristol Myers Squibb: Dr. Mary Beth Harler and Dr. Robert Plenge. Learn how treatments for COVID-19 are addressed along the continuum from initial work in the lab to patient care. Drs. Freire, Harler and Plenge also discuss the importance of looking at the biology of this virus to identify the best treatment options. Dr. Mary Beth Harler is Senior Vice President, Head of Immunology & Fibrosis Development, Global Drug Development and Dr. Robert Plenge is Senior Vice President, Research & Early Development and Head of the Immunology, Cardiovascular, Fibrosis, and Global Health Thematic Research Center team of Bristol Myers Squibb.

Dr. Freire engages in a lively and eye-opening conversation with Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Drs. Freire and Woodcock explore the process to move drug candidates effectively and safely from clinical trials to market. Learn how it happened so quickly and what it means for you.