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Meeting highlights
- Challenges & Opportunities in 2025: AI and machine learning as major opportunities for making healthcare sustainable. The need for public-private collaboration and regulatory environments that embrace innovation.
- The Central Role of Diagnostics: Diagnostics are crucial across all levels of care: primary, secondary, tertiary, and chronic disease management. Early risk detection and preventive care reduce hospitalizations and empower patients.
- Roche’s Strategic Footprint in Spain: Spain was chosen as a strategic hub for innovation and digital health solutions. The San Cugat Campus employs +1,500 people from 37+ nationalities, hosts one of the largest global R&D hubs for digital solutions for diagnostics, and includes commercial operations and logistics for Spain and Portugal.
- Digital Innovation Projects: Over 450 employees are dedicated to digital development, focused on lab efficiency, algorithm-based disease management, and patient empowerment tools.
- Need for Recognition and Funding: Diagnostics represent 70% of clinical decisions but only 2% of healthcare spending*. Need for faster regulatory and funding processes, including digital tools, and improved interoperability of electronic medical records for smarter decision-making.
- Talent Development & Culture: Strong focus on career development, such as the promotion of STEM careers through the Start Tech Graduate Program, providing hands-on training in AI, cybersecurity, automation, data science, etc.
- Leadership & Personal Reflections: Passionate about Roche’s commitment to scientific rigor, diversity, and global health investment.
EF: Where do you see the main challenges and opportunities in Spain’s healthcare market, particularly from a diagnostics perspective?
AR: The years since COVID-19 have brought massive change, and made a quick pace the norm. Healthcare is no exception, and keeping up is challenging. Nonetheless, I see these challenges as opportunities and pivotal moments to drive meaningful transformation.
Looking ahead, one of the greatest opportunities is the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning into healthcare. We must understand their potential impact, their role in supporting sustainability, and, above all, the need for collaboration. This includes both public and private sectors, working together to ensure innovation is embraced within a well-regulated environment. One that not only fosters new solutions but also reevaluates outdated practices for the benefit of patients and system sustainability.
All major conversations, on geopolitical or macroeconomic level, ultimately circle back to one question: how do we make healthcare sustainable? The answer lies in innovation, which is at the core of our work at Roche Diagnostics. But this innovation must be implemented in real-world settings with real impact.
We place patients and populations at the center of everything we do. We're now entering the promising space of preventive medicine to keep people healthy and out of hospitals in sustainable, manageable ways. This also means empowering individuals to manage chronic conditions by identifying risk factors early. At the heart of this is the value of diagnostics. If we can truly integrate this value from primary to tertiary care, from chronic disease management to personalized medicine, we have the ingredients for a powerful transformation, driving healthcare systems toward their next evolution.
EF: How does Spain fit into Roche’s innovation-forward mindset? How is the country contributing to the company’s global goal?
AR: About a decade ago, Roche decided that Spain would become a strategic hub for Roche clinical diagnostics and digital health solutions. This required major investments, not only in infrastructure but also in building the right culture. Until today, we continue to invest significantly. Our site in Sant Cugat is one of Roche’s largest global hubs for digital technology and innovation.
Spain is internationally recognized for the strength of its hospitals, research centers, and vibrant innovation ecosystem. With more than 90 years of presence in Spain, Roche is recognized for its scientific rigor, early adoption of innovation, and strong healthcare dynamics. This long-standing relationship has contributed to the country's growth over the last decades.
At Sant Cugat, we have around 1,500 employees from over 37 nationalities. Only in 2024 will we’ve invested €63 million in R&D to ensure the necessary resources are in place. In addition to being part of the innovation ecosystem, we also manage commercial operations for the Spanish market and operate a warehouse that serves Spain and Portugal, contributing to our global supply chain.
Around 450 people at the site are dedicated to developing digital health solutions. Their work focuses on improving lab efficiency, building disease management algorithms, and creating digital tools that empower patients. Looking ahead, we believe empowered patients and populations will be key to sustainable healthcare. Our focus is on using diagnostic data to assess risk, monitor treatment, and most importantly, help chronic patients manage their health and daily lives. Together, these efforts position Spain as a leader in digital health innovation at both national and global levels.
EF: Can you share a local example or success story that illustrates how Roche is actively empowering the Spanish healthcare ecosystem?
AR: Our proximity to customers, hospitals, and primary care centers allows us to bring market needs directly to our R&D colleagues. This approach has led to the successful implementation of several innovative digital solutions.
For instance, we have introduced a clinical decision support tool that analyzes lab results and demographic data from electronic medical records. This tool is designed to assist healthcare professionals in diagnosing and risk-stratifying patients with conditions like suspected acute coronary syndrome, helping to recommend actions such as whether a patient is at risk or needs immediate care.
Another example is a mature learning model that predicts the risk of rapid kidney function decline. By using lab data, demographics, and clinical guidelines, it supports physicians in making more informed decisions based on a patient's disease status.
These developments demonstrate how we are moving from what was once the future of medicine to the present reality. By focusing on interoperability and leveraging data, we can identify risk earlier, intervene sooner, and focus attention where it’s most needed. It’s a clear demonstration of how digital tools are adding value to healthcare.
EF: How can we continue to raise awareness of the importance and value of diagnostics?
AR: Results of diagnostics influence 70% of clinical decisions, while accounting for less than 2% of total healthcare expenditure. Since COVID, it’s very clear that proper diagnostics are key to continuing our lives. This is something we keep bringing visibility to. With chronic diseases like diabetes or metabolic diseases, it's becoming more visible to everyone that diagnostics play a role in almost every interaction we have with the healthcare system.
Still, there are barriers we need to overcome together. First is how we recognize the value of diagnostics. This is a central discussion within the industry and at MedTech Europe. This is why a significant need in healthcare is to improve core processes, starting with the regulatory and funding systems, by faster incorporation of innovative diagnostics with the appropriate funding to reach more patients and increase the impact. Additionally, it is important to work on improving interoperability so that patient data isn't fragmented across different electronic medical records and can be shared easily between systems. We’re working to bring this conversation to funders and policymakers, especially around digital diagnostics. Just like physical biomarkers, digital data offers measurable insights. It deserves funding, resource allocation, and a proper value framework, so patients benefit, and the industry can keep investing in innovation.
EF: You mentioned Sant Cugat´s multicultural and interdisciplinary approach. What skills will the next generation of STEM professionals need to keep building a strong future for Roche?
AR: It’s a beautiful ecosystem where so many nationalities and structures come together; local roles, regional responsibilities, global functions, and R&D, all with different needs. At Sant Cugat, this diversity constantly pushes us to rethink our policies: what attracts people, drives engagement, and ensures the right internal and external interactions to access talent and make an impact locally.
What we’ve built aligns closely with Roche’s global vision. We have a strong commitment to inclusion and belonging that values differences and creates opportunities to attract top talent. How we position ourselves externally also plays a role. One example is our START-TECH graduate program, a one-year experience for recent STEM graduates offering hands-on training in technologies like AI, cybersecurity, automation, data analytics, and data science.
These graduates are mentored by colleagues in Sant Cugat and across the globe. They work in multicultural teams on global projects; many are directly focused on patient outcomes. The qualities we look for include curiosity, cross-functional collaboration, and, above all, patient focus. Operating in a regulated environment, we know that when a patient is at the end of everything, we must be extremely careful. Our work is grounded in science, and that science must be robust, because lives depend on it.
EF: You’ve been at Roche for over 20 years. Looking back: what are the key lessons you’ve learned? What moments are you most proud of?
AR: For me, it comes down to years of experience and a deep commitment to science. Supporting patients and healthcare professionals in making informed decisions is at the heart of what we do. That dedication to science is what I’ve always admired about Roche, and it’s why I’ve stayed so long. Across every role and country, I’ve seen the same rigor and awareness of the real impact we have on people’s lives. It’s never just a job or a title; it’s about contributing to meaningful change and long-term sustainability, which I’m incredibly proud of.
Roche values diversity and different perspectives. If we look at how much our footprint has expanded in Latin America, Asia Pacific, and now Africa, it’s a clear demonstration of the company's global commitment. Every region has different needs, and Roche is investing to meet them. If you're curious, eager to grow, and know what you're looking for, there’s always an opportunity here.
On women in leadership: the numbers are heading in the right direction; not because it's about gender, but because we believe in equality. Everyone deserves the chance to contribute. When you create a culture that lives that value consistently, real diversity follows. That’s why we see so many women in leadership roles at Roche. We start early, with initiatives like the STEM program, and we ensure knowledge flows across functions and across everything we do for patients. At the core, it’s a strong belief in the power of diversity to shape stronger companies and a better society.
* (source: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/10/we-cannot-overlook-diagnostics-in-the-pursuit-of-universal-health-care/#:~:text=With%20less%20than%20seven%20years,just%202%25%20of%20healthcare%20spending // https://www.medtecheurope.org/access-to-medical-technology/value-of-diagnostic-information-vodi/).
