The importance of patient-centred care
Roche Canada’s Brigitte Nolet talks about empathetic leadership, precision medicine, and workplace culture (1,000 words, 5 minutes)
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As she celebrates her first year as Roche Canada’s first female CEO, Brigitte Nolet says she’s very proud of the work her company is doing, noting that her teams are committed to pursuing “the impossible for patients.”
“We are one of the largest biotech companies with differentiated medicines and oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology, and diseases of the central nervous system,” she said on the first episode of the 10th season of the NPC Podcast. “We’re also very lucky we have partners in diagnostics and diabetes care as well.”
She added that the company is also a leader in in vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, as well as a frontrunner in diabetes management.
When she became Roche Canada’s CEO, one of her responsibilities was global patient group relations, and she learned about understanding different perspectives from those living with diseases. “I really got to understand our company’s commitment to patient inclusivity,” she said, adding she was also able to fully understand and apply the concept of “nothing for patients without patients.”
Nolet [pictured below] said that when she returned to Canada after spending many years abroad, she was proud to see how the Canadian organization had taken this concept and moved forward with different approaches.
“One of the most interesting [approaches] is the creation of patient councils,” she said. “We are working with people who are living with diseases or their caregivers, and understanding what matters to patients.”
The patient counsels help the company understand patients, support programs, educational efforts and even their internal culture. “They challenge us and help us open our minds on all of these different facets,” Nolet said. “So it’s just been such a great example of Roche Canada living that value, that importance of nothing for patients without patients.”
Nolet also mentioned that diversity and inclusion are a priority for Roche Canada. She says nothing is more important than the culture that is created for the employees. She believes organizations are successful when colleagues are happy and respected and when there is an open culture that allows them to be their authentic selves at work and to develop genuine relationships.
“We are very proud supporters of different employee resource groups that we have,” she said. “We have some teams across our organization, like our out proud and equal networks, our ‘Open at Work,’ which is an LGBTQ-plus group, and our allies coming together to understand and foster an inclusive workplace for all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.”
“We also have Roche-ability, which promotes the inclusion of people with disability, both visible and non-visible, always ensuring that people can reach their full potential,” she said. “We have Roche for racial equality, what we call RoAR. It's part of the umbrella global diversity network. And really, it's about promoting and establishing that global unity across race and ethnicity-focused communities and bringing that sense of legality and equality to our work.”
Nolet added that Roche Canada also has a number of efforts that ensure gender diversity in the organization, guaranteeing gender pay and equity as well as supporting more women to become leaders through the company’s international women's network. “We have more than 25 networks and chapters across the company that support the professional development and advancement of women.”
THIS WEEK 06/06/23
Takeda Canada Inc. launched the Takeda Canada Digital Health Innovation Challenge, an initiative to identify disruptive digital health solutions and explore new partnerships to accelerate and transform patient care in Canada.
CSL Vifor announced that the U.S. FDA has granted its partner American Regent, Inc., approval for ferric carboxymaltose (Injectafer) for the treatment of iron deficiency in adult patients with heart failure.
The U.S. FDA approved Pfizer’s respiratory syncytial virus vaccine (Abrysvo) for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in patients 60 years and older.
Blue Earth Diagnostics received U.S. FDA approval for flotufolastat F 18 (Posluma) for PET imaging of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positive lesions in men with prostate cancer. This approval applies to men who have suspected metastasis and are eligible for initial definitive therapy, as well as those with suspected recurrence based on elevated serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels.
LISTEN UP
In the first episode of season 10 of the NPC Podcast, Brigitte Nolet, President and CEO of Roche Canada, talks about empathetic leadership, precision medicine, and workplace culture. Hear her in conversation with podcast hosts Mitch Shannon, Jim Shea and Mark McElwain.
HEALTHBIZ REWIND
This new feature of NPC Healthbiz Weekly looks back at some of the most insightful moments from previous NPC Podcast episodes. In Healthbiz Rewind, you’ll read bold life sci predictions made during the renowned “Prognostication Korner” segment of the NPC Podcast.
Pat Forsythe
General Manager
Eisai Inc.
Mississauga, Ont.
Season 6, episode 08
Listen to this episode here
What bold predictions will you make about the life sciences industry during the coming 12 to 24 months?
If there’s one thing I think the pandemic has done it’s brought unlikely bedfellows together. So, I think we’re closer to common ground with the government, regulators and payers than we’ve ever been.
We all know that pharma is not perceived in the best light, but we all have the same goal in mind. We’re all trying to improve patient outcomes, trying to give access to better health care for Canadians, and in the end, we know that we add value.
It’s so disappointing for me that governments don’t see that we’re an economic asset to the country. There are great jobs with highly educated positions available to people, and we do add to the economy.
I think we’re getting closer to bridging that gap with governments, closer than I’ve ever seen. My prediction is that because of Covid-19 and everything that’s happened, the ball started rolling, and I think we can take advantage of that and actually find some great common ground for the industry, for healthcare, for government payers, for everything.
NEXT WEEK
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