Read the Conversation
Conversation highlights:
- High-growth region: North, East & West Africa are strategic growth engines for Boehringer Ingelheim.
- Beyond medicines: Boehringer-Ingelheim invests in health system strengthening—stroke infrastructure, rabies eradication, and public-private partnerships.
- Tailored strategy: Localized plans per country, diverse and united teams, and strong cultural alignment drive success.
- Access through dialogue: Boehringer-Ingelheim engages regulators to ensure sustainable pricing and return of essential medications despite economic pressures.
- AI & future focus: Leveraging AI for diagnostics and virtual hospitals; prioritizing breakthrough therapies in obesity, MASH, and mental health.
EF: How do you see 2025, and how is it going so far?
MM: 2025 has been a great year for our North, East, and West Africa cluster. It has been a year of unlocking potential, deepening our presence, and proving that Africa’s capabilities are limitless. While we’ve made significant strides, our journey is only just beginning, and there is still tremendous opportunity ahead, and we are more committed than ever to realizing it.
One of the key drivers of success was building strong partnerships with authorities and healthcare providers to identify opportunities that will help strengthen and advance our healthcare systems.
At Boehringer Ingelheim, we believe our responsibility goes far beyond medicines — it’s about creating sustainable healthcare solutions that address unmet needs, build capacity, and empower communities. This patient-centred approach, rooted in partnership and innovation, continues to drive our growth and impact across the region.
EF: How would you define the strategic importance of your region for Boehringer Ingelheim as a global group? How do you attract resources to your region?
MM: Over the past two years, our broader India, Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (IMETA) region has been performing well, recording 13 percent growth in 2023 and 17 percent in 2024. Our North, East, and West Africa cluster contributes significantly to this momentum through its young population, rising disease awareness, and rapid adoption of digital health solutions.
There is still considerable untapped potential, and as we unlock it, the growth of our region will have a major impact on Boehringer as a whole.
EF: How do you balance priorities in such a big region, and how do you identify the areas where you can really make a difference?
MM: We have a long-standing presence in this region, and my team and I have a deep understanding of its environment, its dynamics, priorities, and opportunities. But our decisions and priorities always start with patients. Each country presents distinct healthcare challenges and realities, which is why we prioritize understanding local patient needs and treatment gaps, especially in stroke care and respiratory health. In parallel, we are advancing solutions in cardio-renal-metabolic diseases, recognising the strong link between diabetes and heart failure. Our goal is to identify where we can have the greatest impact on patient outcomes, whether that’s through improving early diagnosis, supporting treatment adherence, or enhancing access to care.
We always create tailored plans for each country and adapt our communication to the specific healthcare systems and providers. At the start of every year, we carefully set priorities based on where we can reach and support the most patients.
Another important part is managing diversity, because our team spans from Egypt to West Africa. The secret of success has been creating a strong sense of belonging to Boehringer as one team, with a dynamic culture where people cooperate, share best practices, and bring out the best in each other.
EF: Could you tell us a little about the therapeutic areas you are working on in your region, and how you're advancing them while delivering value beyond the medication?
MM: At Boehringer, we have two key businesses: Human Pharma and Animal Health, where we are one of the largest providers of vaccines, parasiticides, and therapeutics. As the General Manager, I look at both businesses equally. In the human pharmaceutical industry, we are recognized for providing effective solutions to unmet medical needs, with highly impactful medications. We focus on the cardio-renal-metabolic, respiratory, and immunology areas, where our innovation and research are making a real difference in patients’ lives.
We are among the few companies providing a treatment for stroke management, and we carry that responsibility with great commitment to ensure it reaches the patients who need it most.
Since 2019, through our Angels program, we have been helping countries build stroke infrastructure. In addition, we are entering oncology, obesity, and liver disease. These are significant therapeutic areas, and over the next two to three years, we are preparing to introduce new solutions to the market.
EF: You have been active in building partnerships in the region. How do you define the importance of such collaboration?
MM: We strongly believe in going beyond just providing medications for unmet medical needs. Our mission includes forming partnerships that align with this. Over the past year, we focused on expanding partnerships with authorities. We started in Egypt and plan to extend our coverage to Morocco and Tunisia, encompassing both human pharmaceuticals and animal health.
In the human pharmaceutical sector, the memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Health in Egypt was a long-term goal. Over the past eight years, we have built stroke infrastructure in university hospitals, private hospitals, and military hospitals. We have already developed 100 stroke centers, and we aim to build 100 more in the coming years to cover all regions and populations.
In animal health, Boehringer Ingelheim aims to advance efforts to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies. We engaged with the Ministry of Agriculture and initiated our first campaign in one governorate, focusing on vaccinating stray dogs. This pilot in Egypt, the largest country in our cluster, will guide expansion to Morocco, Tunisia, and other countries as part of our long-term plan.
EF: How do you assess the current level of access to innovation across the countries you oversee, and what is Boehringer Ingelheim doing to accelerate it?
MM: Across North and West Africa, we see tremendous potential for innovation, but the level of access varies widely depending on each country’s healthcare infrastructure, regulatory pathways, and clinical capacity.
At Boehringer Ingelheim, we are helping to accelerate access to innovation by investing in scientific partnerships, clinical research, and digital transformation. We’ve conducted more than 30 clinical trials across the IMETA region, including several in Africa, allowing patients here to benefit earlier from breakthrough science while building local medical expertise. We also work closely with regulatory authorities to support faster review processes and knowledge exchange, ensuring that innovative therapies reach patients safely and efficiently.
We believe that building capacity within healthcare systems is just as vital as developing innovative treatments. That’s why we are committed to empowering healthcare professionals across North, East, and West Africa with the latest medical knowledge and digital tools to improve disease diagnosis and management.
Through our global “Sustainable Development for Generations” framework, we embed sustainability into every aspect of our operations, driving long-term impact across human, animal, and environmental health. One of the key pillars of this framework is “More Health,” which reflects our ambition to improve access to healthcare for 50 million people globally by 2030. In our region, this translates into targeted initiatives that enhance screening, awareness, and education, particularly in cardio-renal-metabolic and respiratory diseases, tailored to the unique healthcare needs of our communities. By investing in these efforts locally, we are not only addressing today’s health challenges but also contributing to a healthier, more equitable future for generations to come across Africa.
EF: How does Boehringer Ingelheim detect and address patient needs across these areas in different regions, and how do you prioritize among them?
MM: All the new medications we are bringing in are valuable, including those for oncology. We focus on breakthrough treatments, not just new indications. When it comes to prioritization, it depends on the region.
In our cluster, the obesity medication is particularly important because it also addresses MASH, or fatty liver disease. Our region has one of the highest prevalences of both obesity and MASH, and currently, there is no treatment for MASH, which can progress to liver cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Preparing the market for obesity and MASH is therefore my main priority, as these conditions represent a very high unmet need, affecting around 30% and 25% of the population, respectively. This is my main focus.
EF: Could you tell us how you are using technology to enhance your operations, and how you think it can help make healthcare more equitable with AI?
MM: Prior to my current role, I served as the Medical Director for the India, Middle East, Turkiye, and Africa region, where I oversaw all medical operational activities related to regulatory affairs, medical affairs, adverse events reporting, as well as research and development.
Over the past year, we have been exploring technology and AI to provide solutions for areas that hinder the patient journey. For example, with local partners and vendors, we are exploring tools that can give radiology diagnostics for diseases like Interstitial Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), and tools that can help screen patients for rare conditions.
As a patient-centric organization, we use data and AI to maximize our impact not only by improving operations but by ensuring that technology translates into better outcomes for patients. This means building skills and scaling our capabilities, ensuring the readiness of strategic data assets, and forming strong partnerships that enable equitable access to data and healthcare innovations. Across Boehringer Ingelheim, our goal is to use these tools responsibly to make healthcare more connected, inclusive, and accessible for all.
EF: Which area of medicine, or which upcoming research or area of science, excites you the most right now, and do you think it will have a real impact?
MM: As an oncologist, I am naturally biased toward oncology. When I started oncology 30 years ago, we managed patients mainly with radiotherapy and a few medications. Now with targeted therapies and immunotherapies, what once seemed like science fiction is becoming reality. That is exactly the direction we are moving in: tailored treatments not just by cancer type, such as lung cancer, but based on specific DNA targets. This is very exciting and has the potential to change oncology and eventually other therapeutic areas.
EF: What efforts is Boehringer Ingelheim making to ensure these important therapies are accessible to everyone?
MM: This is one of the most difficult questions in the industry. Over my 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry and 35 years as a physician, I have witnessed how innovation has transformed lives but also how challenging it is to ensure that these breakthroughs reach everyone who needs them. At Boehringer Ingelheim, we continue to invest heavily in research and development, with a clear goal of addressing unmet medical needs in areas such as cardio-renal-metabolic, respiratory, and rare diseases. We are committed to creating sustainable healthcare solutions that can truly improve the quality of life for generations to come.
Through our global sustainability framework, “Sustainable Development for Generations,” we are advancing initiatives under the “More Health” pillar, which focuses on expanding access to care, supporting disease awareness, and enabling early diagnosis in underserved communities. We also work closely with governments, healthcare providers, and local partners to strengthen health systems and ensure that innovation translates into real impact.
EF: What makes Boehringer Ingelheim a company people want to stay with?
MM: I think it’s an environment of culture and purpose. When I first came to Boehringer, I didn't know I would stay for 15 years. From day one, you feel part of something bigger, and being a family-owned company that genuinely cares about people, patients, and communities, really helps to maintain a long-term vision of positively impacting patients. Coming from a background as a physician and now as a general manager, I still focus on how we can positively impact patients, how we can partner with authorities, and how we can support our communities.
Our People Promise is to empower every employee to grow, make an impact, and bring their authentic self to work. Across our diverse region, we offer opportunities that go far beyond roles — from international exposure and leadership development programs to internships that nurture young talent across Africa and the Middle East.
Personally, having been here for 15 years, what keeps me inspired is the environment, which is collaborative, inclusive, and deeply human. We celebrate different perspectives and backgrounds because we believe diversity drives innovation. Whether you’re a new graduate or a senior leader, you have the freedom to learn, contribute, and truly make a difference. That sense of belonging and shared purpose is what makes Boehringer Ingelheim a place people don’t just join but choose to grow with.
EF: If you were to give three pieces of advice to the young generation entering healthcare, what would they be?
MM: This is my preferred area, and I’ll share with you what I always tell interns. We offer a comprehensive internship program that attracts pharmacy students for training. The first thing I tell them is: enter the pharma industry only if you feel you have a bigger mission to accomplish. That sense of mission, making a difference for patients and families, will give you purpose and make you feel good about coming to work every day.
Second, be persistent. The new generation is often eager for quick success. Education is important, but experience is equally important. Be patient and allow yourself the time to grow.
Third, be curious. Curiosity has shaped my whole career. I was curious about research, so I became a researcher. I was curious about the pharma industry, so I joined it. Later, I became curious about access and commercial topics, which led me to become a general manager. If I had not been interested, I would have stayed at the university all those years.
EF: Do you have a final message?
MM: I strongly encourage companies to remain curious and actively explore opportunities across the African continent. We are doing the same in the North, East, and West Africa cluster, expanding our presence and collaborating with governments that share our vision to improve patient access to innovative medicines. Progress will only happen when we seek partnerships, build trust, and unite our efforts. I invite my colleagues to continue exploring, collaborating, and driving innovation for patients across Africa.
