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EF: What challenges and opportunities are you facing this year in the Spanish market?
AR: Spain offers significant healthcare opportunities. It is among the European countries with high healthcare spending and is known for its universal coverage and quality public system. Every resident has access to top-notch healthcare services and a wide network of modern hospitals. This sets the stage for further system development or evolution to ensure seamless integration.
However, there are challenges, such as an aging population with long life expectancies exceeding 77 years on average. Like many healthcare systems, Spain faces sustainability and utilization issues. Despite these challenges, diagnostics companies can offer solutions for chronic diseases and collaborate with various stakeholders to advance healthcare to the next level.
EF: How is Roche Diagnostics addressing the challenge of Spain's aging population and increasing healthcare demand?
AR: The healthcare system in Spain was initially designed in the 50s and 60s with a focus on universal coverage and disease management. It prioritized establishing a robust hospital network to deliver complex healthcare services across the country. However, with advancements in technology, especially post-COVID, there is a growing recognition of the importance of prevention and early diagnosis. As the population ages, chronic diseases emerge as significant cost drivers. The shift is now towards population management, focusing attention on proactive healthcare measures and using technology for early intervention. This requires a move away from solely managing diseases to a more holistic approach that includes preventive care and primary care programs. The goal is to reduce hospital admissions by keeping people healthy and addressing health issues before they escalate. This shift presents a substantial opportunity for improvement in the healthcare system, but it will require considerable time, effort, and investment to implement it effectively.
EF: Why is Spain strategically important for Roche Diagnostics?
AR: A company like Roche is known for innovation and being science-driven. Spain stands out as a country recognized for its investment in healthcare innovation. Our focus at Roche is always on the value that science and innovation can bring to patients. Spain's commitment to universal healthcare coverage attracts top professionals and fosters a culture of innovation, especially in healthcare. This commitment translates into significant investment in research and development, ensuring that state-of-the-art diagnostic tests and treatments are available when needed. The government plays a crucial role in driving innovation within universities, research institutions, and hospitals, providing funding and resources for early research and development programs. This close relationship between science, innovation, and patient care underscores the importance of continued investment and presence in the Spanish market.
EF: How is Roche Diagnostics using AI technology to make healthcare diagnostics more data-driven? Can you explain the role of the software development center in Barcelona in this effort?
AR: The term "digitalization" in healthcare gained a lot of attention after COVID-19, but we need to explore what it really means in healthcare and which services were the pioneers in using data to streamline patient information. The laboratory played a crucial role in this digitalization journey, given the massive amount of data it generates. In a medium-sized hospital, nearly a million test results are produced monthly, each influencing medical decisions. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, the lab was among the first to digitalize the vast amount of generated information, leading to the development of laboratory information systems—the initial digital tools within hospitals. Subsequently, hospital information systems emerged, and so forth. However, COVID prompted the adoption of telemedicine, highlighting the need to utilize technology and information to impact people's lives positively. Yet, challenges arise due to the disparate digitalization paths across healthcare institutions. In Spain's market, this diversity extends to every hospital, province, and autonomous community, making harmonization complex. Our focus now is navigating this complexity. Using existing data from laboratory and hospital information systems, we utilize artificial intelligence and algorithms to develop decision-support tools. These tools go through available data to recommend informed decisions, optimize resource utilization, and ensure scientific accuracy.
With a focus on science-driven solutions, we have established a global center for software development in Sant Cugat, Barcelona. Here, nearly 600 dedicated professionals work on various digital healthcare initiatives, ranging from enhancing lab efficiency to developing sophisticated algorithms for disease management. Our goal is to leverage data throughout the patient journey, from risk identification to treatment monitoring and beyond, ultimately improving patient outcomes. Through collaborative efforts across our global centers, we try to innovate and advance digital healthcare solutions. Today, the use of AI is a reality in tools such us Navify Algosuite, an open ecosystem that offers the first algorithm, Elecsys® GAAD (an IVD-approved digital assay developed by Roche used by clinicians to aid in the diagnosis of early-stage liver cancer). Early January 2023, a new algorithm, ColonFlag (referred to as LGI-Flag in the US), is now available on Navify Algorithm Suite and is going to be piloted/commercialized by a few customers.
More algorithms are also progressively onboarded (e.g. Cardiac algorithms) and algorithms developed and validated by users are easily integrated into the open platform.
EF: How does the diagnostics division help provide a complete, personalized patient journey?
AR: Our shared purpose revolves around anticipating and fulfilling the evolving needs of patients. Collaboration is fundamental to our approach and deeply rooted in our scientific DNA. Our focus spans the entire range of product development, from the initial stages to ensuring ongoing alignment with market demands. As a biotechnology company operating in crucial healthcare domains like diagnosis and treatment, we prioritize close collaboration, particularly in areas such as oncology, infectious diseases, and cardiometabolic disease management. Furthermore, we are actively exploring new frontiers, notably in neuroscience. By 2030, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's will pose significant global health challenges. Early identification of these conditions is paramount, as it enables preventive interventions and ensures effective chronic disease management to lessen patient deterioration. Hence, we are collaborating to advance early diagnosis methods and enhance existing treatments.
Additionally, our focus extends to diseases like diabetes, which are becoming increasingly dominant, particularly in countries like Mexico and India, due to dietary factors. Here, our diagnostic capabilities play a crucial role in identifying individuals at risk early on, allowing for proactive interventions such as dietary adjustments, exercise, and community support networks. Ultimately, our vision for the future of healthcare revolves around keeping individuals healthy and out of hospitals through proactive disease management and preventive measures.
EF: What are the three key pillars you would prioritize to establish a prosperous and sustainable healthcare system in Spain?
AR: 1. Make sure all healthcare practices see patients as whole people, not just collections of problems in different body parts. This should be the foundation of everything we do in healthcare.
2. Second, create ways to bring in new ideas and ensure there is enough money to keep innovation going. This means not just adding new things but also stopping things that are not working anymore. But rules and regulations often get in the way of this, so we need rules that can keep up with new ideas. For example, just a few years ago, talking to your doctor through a screen seemed impossible, but now it is a reality. However, rules have not caught up with these changes.
3. Third, we should have public contracts that focus on results, not just actions. This helps make sure healthcare keeps improving and stays sustainable.
EF: What are you most proud of during your 25 years at Roche Diagnostics?
AR: I have always had a passion for science, and that is why I love what we do at Roche. It is all about how science can impact society and healthcare. When you see the real-life impact of science on people's lives, it is incredibly rewarding. Like when you find the right treatment for a patient or introduce solutions like HPV screening for cervical cancer that save lives. Meeting women who have benefited from early diagnosis or people living healthy lives with diabetes thanks to our solutions is truly inspiring. Seeing patients with heart surgery using a valve that controls their therapy at home without needing frequent hospital visits gives you a sense of fulfillment that is hard to match with anything else.
EF: Do you have any final message regarding Roche Diagnostics that you would like to share with our readers?
AR: In today's globalized world, diversity holds immense value, especially for companies like Roche in biotechnology and healthcare. Having a diverse presence worldwide is one of our greatest strengths. Personally, I am passionate about embracing this diversity and have had the opportunity to work in various markets with different people. I have seen the power of diversity when people embrace it and explore new markets and business models courageously. If you have lived or been born in a different country, you understand the value it brings, as it transforms you into a different person. I believe in encouraging everyone to explore the world and embrace curiosity because understanding our shared challenges and opportunities is key to driving change in healthcare. We are all equal yet uniquely different, and by recognizing this, we can use each other's strengths.
