INTERVIEW WITH DR. JACK WATTERS, TPAA BOARD MEMBER

VICE PRESIDENT, MEDICAL AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS FOR EUROPE, CANADA, AFRICA, AND THE MIDDLE EAST, PFIZER, INC.

 

OCTOBER 2005

WATTERS:  I first became aware of AIDS in 1982. The reports were coming in from New York and San Francisco, and as an active gay man of twenty nine, I quickly realized that this concerned me. As friends passed away, I made a conscious decision to modify my behavior. That was difficult to do, but the will to live is so strong. My resolve was further strengthened with each memorial service I attended. It became very personal when my partner Jordi got sick with pneumocystis pneumonia in 1989. In those days, we had very little in the way of treatment. This was before protease inhibitors or combination therapy. So we tried everything we could, but ultimately he succumbed two years later. I know what it feels like to watch helplessly as someone you love wastes away. However, I did feel uniquely positioned to influence the pharmaceutical industry’s efforts to find a cure. So I guess you could call that my own form of activism.

 

WATTERS:  I feel a personal bond with this important program and am proud to say that I was in at the beginning. Pfizer and the Minister of Health in South Africa began discussions in early 2000 to develop a program to provide Pfizer’s antifungal medicine Diflucan (fluconazole) to all South African AIDS patients suffering from Cryptococcal meningitis or esophageal candidiasis. These are debilitating and life-threatening opportunistic infections. In the case of meningitis, after the initial treatment, the medication must be taken for life. Esophageal candidiasis is a painful condition that makes swallowing impossible and patients can be deprived of their life-saving antiretroviral medications as a result. While Diflucan is not a treatment for AIDS as such, it has made a difference in the lives of thousands. The program was launched in South Africa in 2001, and I am happy to report that it has now spread to more than 25 countries, where 2.5 million tablets have been distributed to more than 130,000 patients.

 

WATTERS:  I am inspired in the most unusual places. When I have been to Africa, I have been moved to tears by some of the community education projects in which villagers spread the message about safe sex and responsible behavior through song and drama. I have been equally moved after witnessing the miraculous change in the lives of patients enrolled in the Diflucan program. I never cease to be humbled by the serenity of health workers in hospitals, clinics and orphanages who devote their lives to treating people living with HIV/AIDS, often with very few resources and battling ignorance and prejudice at the same time. I met a lot of people like that recently when asked to take part in a meeting at the Scottish Parliament on the Commission for Africa, the group formed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to define the challenges facing Africa and to provide clear recommendations on the changes necessary to reduce poverty. There were people there from all walks of life, eager to make a difference and as long as there is determination to change the world, based on a sound understanding of the problems and their practical solutions, I believe we will succeed. This is true for Malago, Manchester and Moscow.

 

 

WATTERS:  Sometimes I become literally overwhelmed by the size of the problem. On some of my visits to Africa and Russia, visiting clinics and hospitals, I wonder how we can possibly hope to make a difference. I am angered when I see politicians doing nothing, or worse, making judgments about people with AIDS as if contracting HIV reduced them in some way. Morality and piety, religious or otherwise, which prevent the practice of good medicine have no place in the fight against AIDS. I also believe that we must fight strenuously against the disenfranchisement of women and any group that is marginalized by an uncaring or ignorant society.

 

 

WATTERS:  I learned of TPAA indirectly from a Pfizer colleague. After my involvement in Africa, I had visited Moscow and St Petersburg and became aware that something needed to be done. The situation was drastically different from what I had seen in Africa, but one thing was clear: if we did not act now, we would face an enormous and deadly outbreak in the former Soviet Union. I began looking for a way to make a difference in Russia, both personally and for Pfizer. And then John Tedstrom walked through my door! Our charismatic and dedicated President of TPAA offered a very tangible way to get involved and I was able to persuade Pfizer, on both the commercial and philanthropic sides, to contribute to the important work of TPAA. That was in 2003, and shortly after that I was invited to serve on the Board. TPAA is made up of young, talented and totally committed individuals who all work together to deliver educational awareness programs of the highest quality; who advocate at all levels of government on both sides of the Atlantic; and who are tireless in their fund raising and communication efforts. We are recognized by larger, more established organizations for our local knowledge and yes, our agility, and I am committed to ensuring that we continue this mission.

 

WATTERS:  Pfizer makes several important contributions to the fight, with medicines, with medical infrastructure and with our richest resource, our people.

 

I’ve talked about the Diflucan program. We are also deeply involved in developing new medicines that treat HIV directly. Drug development is a very risky business. Most medicines under study fall by the wayside, which was indeed the case with every one of the candidates we studied as protease inhibitors. Though we lost significant time and resources along the way, we have persisted in our work and are now very close to filing for regulatory approval of the first CCR5 inhibitor, which will block entry of HIV into the cell. This could revolutionize the treatment of HIV in both treatment-experienced and treatment-naïve patients, and could also play an important role in prevention in the future.

 

Pfizer built a state of the art training, treatment and research facility in Kampala, Uganda, on the campus of the famed Makerere University. Open since October 2004, now treats 3,000 patients, and trains 250 healthcare workers annually on the latest information on AIDS, Malaria and TB. Pfizer provided $15 million for construction and administrative costs.

 

To mobilize Pfizer talent, our CEO Hank McKinnell announced an inspiring program in 2002. It is called the Pfizer Global Health Fellows. Pfizer colleagues with specific skills identified by selected NGOs as necessary in their field of operation, are seconded to the NGO, all expenses paid, to work in programs to combat the ravages of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. To date, more than 70 employees have been dispatched around the world, including Dr. Hans Groth from my own team, who went to Kazakhstan and Siberia to work on a harm prevention program with Doctors of the World. Dr Groth was my first introduction to TPAA. I would be more than happy to arrange for one of the gifted Pfizer Health Fellows to be seconded to TPAA in Russia or Ukraine for a six-month period.

 

In conclusion, I’d like to say that I feel very fortunate to have been introduced to TPAA, and to have been given the opportunity to serve on its board. We can feel proud of our efforts and contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS in Russia and Ukraine. The world is a better place because of TPAA and its dedicated people.

 

 

Dr. Jack Watters is a physician, international business executive and philanthropist.  His commitment to the fight against HIV spans two decades and many countries in North America, Europe, Eurasia and Africa.  At TPAA, Jack serves on the Executive Committee and is active in issues related to corporate governance and development.  

 

As Pfizer’s Vice President, Medical and Regulatory Affairs for Europe, Canada, Africa and the Middle East, Jack has primary responsibility for managing regulatory and medical affairs for countries in these regions. He also represents Pfizer on issues relating to corporate social responsibility and human rights.  He joined Pfizer in 1994 and was instrumental in setting up the landmark Diflucan Partnership Program with the government of South Africa and acted as media spokesperson. Prior to Pfizer he spent five years with the consumer division of Sterling Winthrop in New York City and eight years in clinical research with Ciba-Geigy in Basel.  Dr Watters trained in medicine at the University of Edinburgh in his native Scotland.