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Conversation highlights:
- Strong sense of pride working at Pierre Fabre due to its foundation-led model, where profits support health-focused philanthropic missions benefiting populations in need.
- 70% of revenue is generated internationally, with products distributed in 120 countries.
- The key Role of Africa for Pierre Fabre, with its manufacturing facilities strengthening not only Africa's health but also bringing wealth. For Africa, 60% of Pierre Fabre’s medicines are produced in Africa.
- Highlighting a diversified portfolio with advanced oncology therapies, including cell and targeted treatments, alongside traditional cancer care, across breast, colorectal, lung, and blood cancer, as well as prescription dermatology, gynecology, and urology, delivering life‑saving impact to patients.
- Emphasizing dermatology specialization spanning severe conditions like melanoma with treatments showing excellent results, or pediatric hemangioma therapy that can resolve critical lesions within 6–12 months, or topical treatment in actinic keratosis that destroys cancerous and precancerous skin cells.
- Stressing the dermo‑cosmetics strategy as a clinical complement to drug therapies, it mitigates side effects such as skin dryness from isotretinoin and radiation‑induced burns during radiotherapy.
- Underscoring a holistic approach from prescription treatments to consumer dermatology, including hydration, acne, and sun protection, reflecting pride in both therapeutic and dermo‑cosmetic offerings for patients and consumers.
EF: What is the mission that you set for yourself, and what are you most excited about?
PB: My mission is deeply connected to the purpose and structure of Pierre Fabre, which I find truly inspiring: Every time we care for a single person, we make the whole world better. Each day, we know that our work not only drives innovation and growth but also contributes to a greater cause. Our profits support our foundation, which provides help to populations in need, particularly in the field of healthcare. This alignment between business success and social impact is my primary motivation.
I am also passionate about the diversity and scientific depth of our work. Our portfolio covers advanced therapies in oncology, including cell and targeted therapies, as well as more traditional approaches to cancer treatment. We are active in gynecology and urology, developing life-saving medicines that genuinely transform patients’ lives.
In dermatology, our expertise spans from treating severe conditions such as melanoma to addressing more common skin disorders. We have developed highly effective solutions for infant hemangiomas, conditions that can be distressing and sometimes affect vital areas of the body, with treatments that often achieve complete disappearance within six months to a year.
Our work also includes therapies for atopic dermatitis, eczema, and acne. Beyond pharmaceuticals, we develop dermocosmetics that help reduce the side effects of medical treatments. For instance, our products support patients undergoing isotretinoin or radiotherapy by alleviating skin dryness and burns.
Today, our company has become a leader in both oncology and dermatology, with a comprehensive approach that ranges from advanced treatments to supportive dermocosmetics. We also take pride in our cosmetic lines that focus on hydration and sun protection, which extend the concept of care into daily life. Seeing our products improve health, comfort, and confidence among patients and consumers is what excites me the most every day.
EF: What are the trends that you identify at a global level, and more specifically, how is the behavior in each region when it comes to the portfolio you mentioned before?
PB: We observe that global health trends have become increasingly similar across regions. Diseases that once affected only certain parts of the world, such as cancer, have now become universal challenges.
In countries with well-developed healthcare systems and structured reimbursement or private insurance models, access to innovative therapies is relatively broad. Patients in these systems can generally benefit from the latest treatments. However, in developing countries where healthcare infrastructure is still evolving, access remains a significant challenge. In many of these markets, the first priority is to build the necessary infrastructure to detect and treat cancer effectively. Encouragingly, more nations are now investing in systems to identify and manage cancer, which is a positive trend.
The next step lies in ensuring access to appropriate treatments. This often involves complex discussions around registration, pricing, and reimbursement, particularly in countries where healthcare budgets must cover very large populations. Governments sometimes face difficult decisions about how to allocate limited resources, balancing between providing essential treatments for millions or funding highly specialized targeted therapies for smaller patient groups.
Our objective is to support solutions that expand access for all patients. While our global strategy remains unified, its implementation naturally varies from country to country due to regulatory and pricing dynamics. Collaboration with local authorities is therefore essential to ensure that new, innovative therapies reach those who need them.
At the same time, we continue to offer mature therapies that have proven efficacy, minimal side effects, and simplified use. For instance, our portfolio includes an oral anticancer drug that exemplifies this category: effective, affordable, and practical for widespread application.
EF: Can you elaborate on how you partner for access, and on your latest partnership with CFAO, deep diving into Africa?
PB: We have direct presence in Africa in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, and we have key partners for the rest of Africa. These may be distribution partners, manufacturing partners, and sometimes partners to handle the medical visit or the MSLs.
The scope of our partnership with CFAO varies depending on the region in Africa. In some countries, they manufacture for us, in others they handle the distribution, and in others they do both. They are growing, most recently in the retail segment in Kenya, and we are excited about our collaboration there as well.
They are a very good partner in many areas, and from one country to another, we work with them on several aspects. We also collaborate with other partners in specific countries, such as South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana, that are enabling access.
EF: Many Asian companies are entering Africa and also Latin America because they see the potential of these two regions. How does Pierre Fabre remain competitive as the market evolves?
PB: Our industry is highly regulated, and we know that as technology evolves, companies implement these to adhere to the industry standards. There are organizations that take their manufacturing seriously and pay attention to the quality of their products. Many companies do not manufacture with the same type of standards. They manufacture for their own market, and then export to Africa, following different quality guidelines.
Our focus is to increase awareness of the quality standards that we follow, and we have amazing teams in Africa because they are working in a compliant way, not with the same arms as those people, but we still manage to maintain our market share. Fortunately, the quality of the product, the efficiency, and the safety of the product remain very important. But essentially, it is difficult.
EF: Who is the partner or the provider you are working with to educate the consumer or the purchaser about the risks and the benefits?
PB: We remain one of the few major pharmaceutical companies that continue to maintain Medical Representatives and Medical Science Liaisons in the field through partners such as ETHICA Group, which is a leader in medical and pharmaceutical information in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa.
While many large groups have moved away from this model, we have chosen to preserve it because our teams are trained to communicate transparently about safety, efficacy, and the importance of patient compliance. This educational message is consistently shared with doctors, pharmacists, and through hospital-based programs. In Africa, nurses play a crucial role in patient care, often as vital as physicians, which makes their continuous education equally important.
Our approach is centered entirely on education and support rather than traditional promotional activities. We invest our efforts and resources in training, field presence, and knowledge sharing to strengthen the healthcare ecosystem. Too often, decisions are made solely on product price or political considerations, overlooking the fundamental value of education and professional support. Sustaining high standards of medical practice requires ongoing investment in health professionals, pharmacists, physicians, and nurses, hospitals, and accurate medical information. It is essential that governments recognize this and take action to uphold these efforts.
EF: How do you think we can challenge the sector to create a more sustainable healthcare model in Africa?
PB: Our Long-term vision is self-sufficiency. Africa itself has to produce, for its own territory, the products that it needs, with the high-quality it deserves. To be self-sufficient, all African countries must work together and accept each other to make it attractive for organizations to invest in scalable manufacturing.
The initiatives for vaccines are an excellent example, where one country hosting the factory produces them for itself and also for other countries. It is important to enable a framework that allows for a similar approach with medicines. The African Medicines Agency is an important step. Mutual recognition must be there as well, and free trade must be there.
