The cover story of the October 2000 issue of Genome Technology focused on Alan Proctor, calling him "Pfizer's secret weapon." Proctor was then the vice president of discovery, genomics, targets, and cancer research in the US, where he started the company's Discovery Technology Center. He envisioned the center as a place where researchers could work unencumbered by the daily demands of drug discovery research. Proctor then moved on to become VP of strategic alliances at Pfizer.