Read the Conversation
EF: What role will Africa play for Takeda?
RR: I am the head of the UMEA area, which encompasses Ukraine, the Middle East, and Africa. Africa is one of our segments in which I believe that we can produce a significant impact by bringing innovative products to market and working together with the different stakeholders—the public and private sectors, healthcare associations, and patient association groups—to accelerate access to this innovation and ensure a sustainable impact on the population.
In terms of the size of the African population and its needs, we believe that Takeda can play an important role in positively impacting the patients affected by rare and complex conditions on the continent.
EF: What are Takeda's priorities in Africa, and what are you focusing on at the moment?
RR: Africa's complexities, opportunities, and dynamics warrant a sustained, long-term approach. At Takeda, we understand that rewards may not be immediate, underscoring our commitment to a lasting investment in Africa.
We have three main priorities in Africa. Takeda is driven by a focus on patients and a building of trust with the environment to reinforce our reputation. Thus, building a sustainable impact on patients requires customer trust and solid reputation. Our first and key priority is to accelerate access to innovative products in a sustainable manner. We want to work with the different stakeholders to bring innovation and make it accessible to all those who need it.
Thus, we have our Access to Medicines (AtM) programs in place that continue to positively impact the lives of patients, particularly those diagnosed with serious condition in underserved communities. Our partner programs, the Blueprint for Innovative Healthcare Access and BVGH programs in Sub-Saharan Africa, have screened more than 200,000 people for cancer, diabetes and hypertension; identified more than 12,000 patients for treatment and trained over 3,300 healthcare professionals and community health workers.
Secondly, we believe that it's impossible to win alone in a very complex environment. We believe that partnership plays an essential role to achieve success, especially in the African region, which requires innovative approaches.
Our third but not least important priority revolves around our investment in our people. This is important for us because Africa requires very specific knowledge and understanding of the dynamics, an innovative mindset, and a commitment to its people. Our investments in developing and growing our people are essential to winning in this complex environment.
EF: Takeda has been successfully tackling supply chain issues in Ukraine. Are there any lessons that you can take from your operations in Ukraine and transfer to Africa?
RR: In examining the UMEA region, a pivotal consideration arises in the context of its dynamic geopolitical landscape. Notably, the Ukraine conflict represents an extreme instance amid an array of conflicts, dynamics, challenges, and opportunities. Even amidst extreme conditions, our ability to innovate and safeguard patient interests remains unwavering; a testament to our commitment.
I am proud to highlight that Takeda stood as a pioneer, being the first to successfully deliver and distribute products amid the complex times. This achievement underscores the significance of a dependable supply chain. This experience holds direct relevance for African nations, particularly South Africa, grappling with infrastructure and energy impediments. The intricacies of delivering during wartime correlate with addressing energy crises, both demonstrating the need for adaptive strategies. Notably, the experience underscores the value of collaborative engagement with diverse stakeholders to ensure unimpeded product access, serving as a shared insight applicable across diverse contexts.
Moreover, a key insight derived from the Ukrainian scenario pertains to synchronized access. Notably, we recently achieved a management entry agreement for innovative products during conflict. This progressive approach holds utmost importance, acknowledging the challenges tied to funding and healthcare system maturity. Takeda's resolute stance involves active partnership with authorities, and the introduction of diverse operational models, all aimed at ensuring that the fruits of innovation seamlessly reach patients. The deployment of management entry agreements and value-based contracts emerges as a critical strategy with significant potential for wider application within various African countries.
EF: How is Takeda leveraging the use of clinical trials to bring innovation to Africa?
RR: There is a clear importance of accelerating clinical trials in different areas. Typically, the pharma industry conducts clinical trials in the larger markets of the United States, Europe, and some Asian countries. At Takeda, we want to bring our world's diversity to clinical trials.
At this stage, there isn't much going on in terms of clinical trials, but we believe that in the future we will see an increase. We have good knowledge of the countries, and our teams have a good understanding of the local regulations and stakeholders.
EF: What does Takeda look for in a partnership?
RR: We understand that partnerships can be multi-dimensional. We can have partnerships in infrastructure, capability building, and the digital space, or we can have them in very specific elements or bottlenecks of access. In Takeda, we focus on the need to understand the patient journey and the bottlenecks that the patient faces to be treated for a specific disease so that we can provide a solution in partnership with the stakeholders or a specific entity. This is the way that we believe that we can help.
In South Africa, we have a lot of activities aimed at elevating the knowledge of the healthcare community in relation to specific rare and complex diseases. We also have a strong partnership with the different entities involved in supporting patients in getting accelerated access to medicine by reducing the burden of the cost. To support patients, we work with different entities, such as hospitals and HCPs, to ensure that we close all the loopholes.
We believe that we need to act in partnership with different companies to support the health authorities. In the last few years, we have observed an advancement by the South African regulatory authorities to reduce the backlog of many products. This was a historical challenge, and over the last two years, it has improved a lot. As a consequence, I believe that in the future we will be able to accelerate access to innovative products in a much faster way in comparison with other countries.
The Middle East is truly outstanding at fast-track regulation. It takes six to nine months for innovative products to be approved in some of the Middle East countries after receiving major health authority approval in the United States and Europe. There is a desire by African countries to move in this direction, and the progress South Africa has made in the last two years is encouraging.
EF: What are the key drivers for growth across Africa?
RR: In the last few years, Takeda has transformed its operations, organization, portfolio, and pipeline. Today, we have a very similar approach around the globe, and we are focused on specific therapeutic areas. We are focused on gastroenterology and oncology. We also have a strong presence in the area of rare diseases. There are more than 7,000 rare diseases that collectively affect more than 300 million people around the globe*. There is a need to see rare diseases collectively, to understand how relevant they are and the impact innovative solutions can bring to patients and society..
We have different areas in terms of rare genetic diseases and hematological diseases. We also have an interest in neuroscience, with targeted investments in plasma therapies and vaccines. In South Africa, the majority of our efforts are concentrated on oncology and gastroenterology due to the unmet needs in that country.
At Takeda, we believe in innovation because this is the best way to address unmet needs, but it's impossible to innovate and be the best at all diseases in the world. It's really important that we have a more focused approach, and this approach starts with our R&D and commercial efforts. We have a strong portfolio in place and a very promising pipeline with nearly 40 assets in different stages of development in the therapeutic areas we are working in.
A significant portion of our pipeline demonstrates the level of innovation that we want to bring to the market because it addresses clear and unmet needs. It has the potential to provide strong support to patients affected by rare and complex conditions.
EF: How do we increase awareness of these issues in Africa?
RR: There has been a general change in the overall demographics of diseases in Africa. In the last 20 years, there has been a huge focus on typical diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis. With the evolving demographics of the continent and the overall improvement of conditions, we have observed a huge increase in these more complex and rare conditions. We need to work together with the different stakeholders to support awareness, diagnosis, and knowledge initiatives about how to identify patients, elevate the standard of care, and provide better treatment beyond the medicines to support these patients.
EF: How do you drive a healthy work culture in your region?
RR: Takeda is celebrating 242 years of Japanese Heritage in 2023. We have an extensive legacy which we are extremely proud of while we transformed in a trully global Biopharmaceutical company.. What really unites us across the globe, with 50,000 employees in 80 countries, is our culture. It's the way we live and our values.
When making a decision that affects all our markets, we focus on the Takeda mindset, using the PTRB that stands for Patient, Trust, Reputation and Business in that order. Is it good for the patients? Will this decision help us build trust in society? Will it reinforce our reputation? If so, then it will generates a sustainable business We believe that this value-based perspective is what really differentiates us and helps us attract talented employees.
EF: What do you think are those special skill sets that the industry is going to need to have in the future?
RR: The cultural element of Takedaism is really important considering the environment that we are living in. We started this concept more than 10 years ago, but I think that COVID accelerated the elements of digitalization, data, and technology. Before COVID, all of us had some level of interaction, but sometimes it was difficult to embed this in our work, and I believe that COVID forced us to pursue different ways of engagement. After COVID, we started to recover the levels of engagement we had before COVID.
We all learned that it's possible to transform the healthcare system and have medical appointments through digital channels. This is aligned with multiple projects that governments are working on.
In South Africa, there is a national plan to help the users of digital technology increase the quality of their services. More importantly, we need to transform mindsets and be more open to trying, testing, failing, and adopting new ways of working and syncing.
EF: How is Takeda leveraging technology and digitalization?
RR: Takeda's decision on the use of technology is clear. We want to be innovative in terms of our portfolio, pipeline, and the use of data is a backbone to deliver our vision. In a few years, the engagement of all 50,000 employees at Takeda will be affected by technology. Our Innovative Capability Centers will support our efforts across the globe. We are looking to be the pioneers and supporters of other countries on this transformation journey. Digitalization can play an important role in improving the quality of healthcare, its support, and its provision to the population. It can also help us close some challenges that we have in the country in terms of resource allocation in the healthcare system, patient support, diagnosis, disease awareness, and knowledge.
EF: When you look back five years from now, how would you like to be remembered as a leader?
RR: I'm passionate about the concept of developing new leaders who act decisively to make an impact in the world. I would like to be remembered as someone who helped people develop, grow, and create a positive impact on the environment in which we live.
We, as pharma companies, have a very noble objective of supporting and alleviating the pain of people who are suffering from chronic or complex conditions. I believe that the only way to succeed in this is through true partnership with the health authorities, patients, and different stakeholders to produce superior results to help people have a better life.
