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EF: What are your priorities for 2024 for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey?
PB: We are focusing on 3 top-priority segments.
The first one is oncology. We are addressing this through both traditional and innovative approaches.
Established oncology includes orally formulated drugs for breast, lung and bladder cancers. They are cost-effective, well-tolerated, and can be administered at home saving costs for the healthcare system and improving the patient's quality of life.
More recently, we started registrainnovativenovating targeted therapies, an adjuvant use the d after full treatment of breast Trastuzimab, for women at high risk of redeveloping cancer a few years later reducing by 2 the risk of cancer relapse.
Our second priority is established medical prescription drugs in gynecology, urology and dermatology.
The third segment we are developing is dermocosmetics, which serves as a bridge between prescription and cosmetic products. These dermocosmetics are particularly useful for complementing medical treatments, such as those associated with cancer therapies. For instance, during radiotherapy, patients often experience skin burns, and our products can help alleviate these side effects.
Another example is the complementary synergies for acne treatments which often cause very dry skin. Dermocosmetics provide solutions to soothe these side effects. Although cosmetics may not initially seem to fit within the pharmaceutical realm, I assure you that our approach is very much medical oriented and science-driven, making it a pure pharma activity.
We are developing these three pillars across different regions with varying approaches. In Africa, our work is very medically oriented whereas in Türkiye and the Middle East we balance dermocosmetics and drugs.
Geographically we have organized a cluster in North Africa covering Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Libya. In Sub-Saharan Africa we are mainly operating in the Western French- speaking countries, we are also operating in South Africa and the neighboring countries. We aim to develop our presence in English-speaking parts of Africa, where we currently have limited operations. We will begin with Kenya, Rwanda, and potentially Nigeria. This region is ripe for development.
Additionally, like my colleague from Brazil for Dermocosmetic, I oversee a unique aspect of our operations: My territory is the only factory dedicated to manufacturing drugs outside of France. This is reflecting our commitment to making Africa more self-reliant in drug supply. The factory, based in Tunisia, produces drugs for both the local market and the wider African countries. We also collaborate with local subcontractors in Morocco and Algeria, further embedding manufacturing within the Continent. This approach is crucial as there is increasing pressure from various governments to localize manufacturing. While establishing a factory in every country is impractical, having factories on the Continent to serve multiple countries is the viable solution. Currently, more than 60% of our production volumes are manufactured within Africa for Africa, a significant achievement that aligns with the growing trend towards local manufacturing.
End of May, I attended conference during Global Health Conference in Geneva, where we discussed several strategic topics for Africa. One key issue was the push for greater independence in pharmaceutical manufacturing through initiatives like the African Pharmaceutical Agency. They are not only advocating for local manufacturing but also for the mutual recognition of expertise across different countries on the Continent.
This mutual recognition is crucial because if each country independently demands local manufacturing, it becomes a very challenging exercise. The volumes required for cost effective and efficient production are not feasible on a country-by-country basis. Financially, it would be difficult to amortize construction and machineries, negotiate raw materials sourced abroad and maintain a cost-effectiveness equation without proper volumes. Therefore, it is essential for African countries to accept the establishment of centres of expertise in one or several countries and to be willing to receive products from these centres. I am a strong believer in providing countries the capability to manufacture their own products. I am absolutely convinced of this. However, there are economic and technical constraints that Government must address and need to be pragmatic in their approach. African Continent must work towards this model of shared expertise and production capacity. I sincerely hope that they will be able to address this point and collaborate effectively on this issue.
I also want to emphasize that our company strongly support this continental approach. 60% of our products by volume are already manufactured in Africa for Africa.
EF: Why would one dollar invested in Africa be better utilized there than elsewhere?
PB: Global companies often have differing perspectives on investing in Africa. Many of the multinational are leaving. Convincing them to invest requires significant effort. We must always remember that our primary goal remains to treat patients. For our industry, the mission is to reach patients everywhere. With my teams, we strongly feel a strong commitment to bringing quality and innovative treatments to Africa. For us, it is unacceptable to treat only part of the world population based on their ability to pay while neglecting others. At Pierre Fabre, we are dedicated to also treating countries with fewer resources and limited access to healthcare products. This mission drives our presence for decades on the Continent.
In the long term, Africa's vast and growing population, with its young and dynamic demographic, makes it essential to invest here. However, the complexity of the territory presents challenges. Unlike China, or India which, despite their size and population, are relatively unified. Africa remains highly fragmented.
Even if some African countries work to create homogeneity, there is still a lot of individuality in policymaking. Promising initiatives like the African Pharmaceutical Agency are steps in the right direction, but there is much work to be done for the countries to collaborate effectively. The potential is immense, but achieving a cohesive effort among African nations remains a significant challenge. How fast it will happen is the question. We need to remain positive.
EF: Do you have any initiatives aimed at increasing awareness and education about your oncology and dermocosmetics portfolios for the African population? Additionally, how can these efforts promote better access to these treatments?
PB: We are very proactive in raising awareness and providing education across the three segments I mentioned: oncology, dermatology and gynecology. We regularly organize extensive educational initiatives in the countries we operate in. One remarkable example is a multiplex congress we held in 2023 in dermatology, which highlights our approach. Across 12 countries, we hosted a symposium with 2500 participants, including dermatologists, general practitioners, and nurses. This diverse mix is crucial because there are few dermatologists in Africa, accepting to train general practitioners and nurses play a vital role in patient care.
The main conference was happening in Senegal, we simultaneously organized meetings in 10 other countries, all connected via video conference. This allowed us to cover almost 2,500 healthcare professionals across these regions in one day. This method is a significant way to promote education in dermatology and gynecology, demonstrating our commitment to extending knowledge. We apply now the same approach in North and South Africa, ensuring consistent educational efforts across all territories.
I wish also to highlight something unique about our company's structure. Pierre Fabre has a distinctive capitalistic structure. 86 % of our shares belong to a Foundation of Public Interest. This means our primary shareholder is a foundation dedicated to humanitarian aims, particularly in middle and low-income countries. Most of our programs are focused on Africa. This foundation's mission aligns with our work, with dividends from our company being reinvested in various programs.
This foundation supports multiple initiatives, including providing access to medicine and care for vulnerable populations, training of health professionals (especially pharmacists to combat fake drugs), addressing sickle cell disease, supporting local patient associations of people living with albinism in Africa, and help developing digital applications to improve healthcare systems. The foundation has been active for 25 years, running 35 programs in 21 countries, with 60% of these programs based in Africa. This substantial commitment is a source of pride for all employees, reflecting our dedication to making a positive impact in these regions.
EF: How does your governance structure allow you to remain competitive and focus on sustainable growth?
PB: Our governance structure can be separated into two different exercises: What is done by the foundation and what is done by the group. The Pierre Fabre Laboratories operates with a financial approach typical of any business, aiming to generate revenue and profit. Part of the dividend in reinvested in R&D and operations, the other part is transferred to the foundation. This traditional business model is distinct from the foundation's approach, where money from the group is invested without expecting revenue, purely to support various humanitarian programs. So, these are two very distinct exercises. The foundation is focused on addressing unmet needs, especially in regions like Africa where certain health issues are overlooked. Take sickle cell anaemia, for example—it is a massive problem in Africa, yet there's limited direct action from governmental authorities to combat it. Similarly, conditions like albinism often go untreated despite the significant risks faced by individuals face such as skin cancer, eyes affection. So, the foundation's efforts to address these gaps are incredibly important.
The group Pierre Fabre Laboratories focuses on therapeutic areas, which differ from the foundation's programs. To stay competitive in the market, we maintain affordable prices for most of our drugs. For targeted therapies, we use differentiated pricing between developed and developing countries, including Africa. In the dermo-cosmetic segment, our products are generally affordable, though import taxes in some African countries can make them seem expensive.
EF: What have been your proudest achievements in your role, and what do you look forward to in the future?
PB: Company purpose is summarizing our pride.' "Every time we care for a single person, we make the whole world better". All Pierre Fabre employees understand, or Each Pierre Fabre employee understands that what they may perceive as a small role is making a big impact in people's lives. We are committed to furthering our efforts on the Continent. We are proud to work on those unmet needs in oncology and dermatology. We pride to manufacture 60% of our products on the Continent itself. We pride ourselves in the fact that we work for a foundation focused on covering the unmet needs of the one in need and contribute on development of healthcare. I am proud of my teams and partners and their hard work and commitment across all our territories.
