Our vision for European healthcare

Now is the time to be ambitious about the future of healthcare and to prepare for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow through a joint vision that sees Europe re-established as a global medical innovation power-house by the end of the decade, delivering more health benefits to EU patients, while reducing overall costs to society and strengthening the economy.

Read more about our approach on healthcare in Europe

“We need to future-proof our systems”

Padraic Ward, Head of Pharma International at Roche, talks about his vision for healthcare and the opportunities and challenges for Europe.

Rebuilding Europe’s leadership in biomedical innovation

About thirty years ago Europe had a leading, vibrant healthcare sector, but for the past several years, the region has been falling behind the US and a strongly growing and committed China.

The EU Health Data Space race A bold vision for healthcare in Europe

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the limitations of the current EU health data system; for Roche, a shared EU health data program is the solution.

Data privacy is the elephant in the room

The importance of data and how it can transform healthcare. So what’s holding us back? André Trottier, Global Head for Personalised Healthcare Policy, shares his ideas.

Ban katantaEurope has long stood strong as a leader in healthcare. It is the home of great scientists, physicians and academic institutions, a leader in the provision of universal healthcare, and a base for many of the innovative industries that have driven advances in patient care and outcomes. It has valued the health of its citizens, and understood the importance of science and innovation to improving it.

Based in Basel, the “three-country-corner” of Switzerland, France and Germany, Roche has its home at the heart of Europe, and for almost 125 years has maintained a deep footprint on the continent. Employing over 40,000 people in Europe, we have significant R&D and manufacturing capabilities, and a strong commitment to ensuring new medicines and integrated solutions are available and accessible to patients in all European countries, as and when they need them.

Ban katantaIn recent years, we have seen the global healthcare innovation landscape evolve; the US and China are setting the pace with dedicated programmes to encourage innovative personalised and integrated healthcare solution pilots, and attract ongoing investment. And while the EU has made considerable progress to ensure that fundamental rights of EU citizens are protected, its efforts to leverage the benefits of digitalization and EU-wide data exchange for health and healthcare trail those in the US and China.

Ban katantaIt doesn’t have to be like this - Europe has what it will take to address this challenge and has already announced an important new commitment to a European Health Union. With a bold and optimistic Pharmaceutical Strategy that uses transformative advances in science, technology, and the delivery of healthcare, Europe can boost patient outcomes, foster greater system sustainability and further confirm its position as a destination for healthcare innovation and investment.

Ban katantaWe believe in the future of Europe as a centre for healthcare innovation and world class patient outcomes, and we are committed to doing all we can to help make it a reality.

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Ban katantaThere are many things working in Europe’s favour for this to happen:

A large and skilled population
Advanced health systems
High investment levels

But patient outcomes in Europe are also being held back due to:

Inflexible, fragmented regulatory systems
Delays and restrictions in access to innovation
Lack of regulatory readiness for the personalised and integrated healthcare solutions of the future

Facts and figures

+42,500employees

We have approximately 42,500 employees in Europe of our global population of around 97,700 employees overall. In Europe, the largest number of employees are in Mannheim and Penzberg, in Germany, and at headquarters in Basel, Kaiseraugst and Rotkreuz, Switzerland.

15R&D sites

Roche has 15 of its 29 Research & Development sites based in Europe.

7sites

Of 23 manufacturing sites worldwide, 7 major manufacturing sites are based in Europe.

+47million people

Across EU Member States, our medicines are used for the treatment of more than 47 million people.

Ban katantaAt Roche we are making fundamental changes to the way we operate, how we work with our stakeholders and leverage developments in science and technology to deliver more patient benefit at less cost to society.

Roche is heavily invested in finding solutions to society’s difficult health problems. We are active across oncology, neuroscience, rare diseases and anti-infectives, among other therapeutic areas. We are committed to diseases that are known to be difficult-to-research and difficult-to-treat.

We have invested in research to fight the public health concern of antimicrobial resistance for many years, and were one of the 13 founding members of the AMR industry alliance, a collaboration which today comprises more than 100 members.

Investing in healthcare innovation

Roche invested an Industry leading CHF 11,696 million in 2019 in core R&DBan katanta, at almost 20% of sales, and an increase of 6% over prior year. The average level for the industry is 17% of sales.

Sustained record on sustainability

Roche has environmental leadership practices that have been recognized for over a decade. The company is one of the most sustainable companies in the pharmaceutical industry as recognized by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI).

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Tags: Society, Patients, Sustainability