Prize Regulations

Prize Money

A total of 100,000 Swiss francs in prize money is awarded. The Pfizer Research Prize honors five outstanding projects: two in Oncology, two in Infectious Diseases/Immunology (both in basic and clinical research), and one in Digital Health. Each awarded project receives 20,000 Swiss francs.

Eligibility

Project teams working in medical research in the fields of Oncology or Infectious Diseases/Immunology, or in the field of patient-centered Digital Health solutions, are eligible. A maximum of three awardees per project can receive the prize. 

For Oncology and Infectious Diseases/Immunology, one of the awardees must always be the first author. In addition, authors who have made an equal contribution to the first author must be nominated as awardees.

In the field of Digital Health, only projects that have been successfully implemented in practice are eligible. Projects that are still in the planning or evaluation phase are excluded. The domicile of the main applicant and/or company must be in Switzerland.

All projects must comply with all applicable regulations and laws.

Projects

In the fields of Oncology and Infectious Diseases/Immunology, projects in basic and clinical research can be submitted. Projects must have been published or accepted for publication within the past two years and must have been predominantly conducted in Switzerland. A publication is defined as an article in a peer-reviewed journal. Submitted projects must be assessed as outstanding in terms of their innovative character or clinical relevance. All projects must comply with the highest ethical, legal, and scientific standards. A project team may submit only one project per field if the same methodology is used.

In the field of Digital Health, projects can be submitted that focus on patient-centered digital solutions and have already been successfully implemented in practice. The domicile of the main applicant and/or company must be in Switzerland and the submitted work should clearly demonstrate a measurable benefit for patients. Publication in a scientific journal is not required. Validation can be demonstrated through publicly available reports, pilot programs, or successful implementations.

Jury

The Foundation board awards the prizes based on the evaluation by the expert committees who independently assess the projects. The Foundation board can forgo awarding a prize in a given category. This applies if the expert committee considers the number and/or the quality of the projects as too low. This decision made by the Foundation board cannot be appealed against.

Documents and Submission Deadline

Please submit all required documents as mentioned in the application form.

The documents must be submitted to the Foundation Pfizer Research Prize
([email protected]) by 31 July 2025.

Award Ceremony

The awarded projects will be presented at the award ceremony on Thursday, 29 January 2026.