Read the Conversation
EF: With a remarkable career at Thermo Fisher Scientific, what are your main priorities for Brazil for 2023 and 2024?
RM: Thermo Fisher is a global company with subsidiaries in over fifty countries and a workforce of over 125,000 worldwide.
I started at this company in 2010, but even before officially joining the team, I had 25 years of hands-on experience with their products. 13 years ago, we had around 25 employees in Brazil, a mark that has now climbed over 1000. The company's investment and growth in the country over these past years have been remarkable. It has been an incredible journey, and I feel privileged to have witnessed our impressive expansion since the beginning.
Today, our focus on markets like Brazil and Latin America is gaining momentum. In particular, the life sciences sector, which includes biotech, pharma, and genomics, is showing tremendous promise for these countries globally. Thermo Fisher's diverse portfolio extends beyond life sciences, but this field's future is very bright.
EF: How is Thermo Fisher actively contributing to shaping Brazil as an innovation hub?
RM: Innovation is a core value in our company, and we are deeply committed to fostering it in Latin America. Countries like Brazil and Chile are making impressive strides in biotech, and we are increasing our partnerships in these regions.
In Brazil, my team is dedicated to building collaborations with biotech companies and incubators, offering technical and innovation support. We recently announced a cooperation with Eretz, a startup incubator of the Albert Einstein Hospital in Brazil. They focus on three main verticals: medical devices, digital health, and biotech. We are proud to be their first supporters in this field.
EF: How is your innovative focus impacting your portfolio? Are there any new regional launches you are particularly excited about?
RM: Thermo Fisher is a frontrunner in R&D investment globally, allocating about $1.5 billion to create innovative solutions. We are currently focusing on developing products that cater to our markets, especially emerging ones. Innovation is at our company's center. We have recently introduced a game-changing mass spectrometer called Orbitrap Astral. It gives faster throughput, deeper coverage, higher sensitivity, and accurate and precise quantitation, enabling our customers to expand the scale and scope of their experiments.
On the genetics front, we have made significant strides in molecular testing. During the pandemic, we contributed substantially to diagnostics, where over 50% of global tests used Thermo Fisher technology.
Furthermore, we are diving into gene therapy and molecular biology with new products to support our customers and research in these areas.
EF: What pillars are necessary for sustainability in Brazil’s life science sector?
RM: Health economics is a critical topic. Our major focus is precision medicine, evolving into predictive and personalized medicine. We are making progress, especially in oncology. We can now sequence specific genetic codes in tumors, aiding pharma companies in developing targeted drugs. This is a revolutionary shift, potentially reducing treatment costs through early detection and tailored approaches. Precision medicine is truly at the forefront of diagnostic advancements in life sciences. It is a complex subject, focusing on more effective diagnostics to alleviate the disease burden on both the government and private sector.
However, in healthcare, we should not just think about costs but about improving lives. Through precision medicine, we can enhance a patient's life expectancy by providing a drug that effectively targets their condition. Ultimately, it is about being patient-centric in all our efforts to improve their well-being.
EF: How would you rate Brazil’s current level of digital adoption, and how is Thermo Fisher exploring new market opportunities in digital transformation?
RM: Brazil is at the forefront of the digital world in Latin America. Internet usage is high, and services have thrived, especially during the pandemic.
Thermo Fisher is actively embracing digital transformation. We are investing heavily in digital solutions like our e-commerce platform, which has seen remarkable adoption rates in Latin America.
This trend is spreading across Latin America. However, as we digitize, we also enhance our internal processes for efficiency while maintaining the essential personal touch. Our challenge is to balance leveraging digital tools and preserving the personal relationships our customers value. In the health and life-science industry, people still want to speak to a human.
EF: How is Thermo Fisher training professionals to use its products and build educational relationships with the customers?
RM: Ensuring our team is well-equipped to support our highly specialized customers is crucial. The level of expertise our customers expect is demanding, so our training metrics are rigorous. We utilize digital platforms for online training, but hands-on experience is equally important. We invested in a Customer Experience Center, a live lab in Sao Paulo, Brazil, spanning over 500 square meters. It is equipped with all our instruments, allowing our team and customers to try the equipment and conduct live experiments.
We have structured training programs, both for our team and customers. They appreciate the blend of theory and hands-on practice, moving from the classroom to the platform. We are continuously investing in similar centers. We have recently opened one in Chile and have plans to enhance and expand our existing centers in Argentina.
EF: How is Thermo Fisher preparing the next generations? And what skills are you looking for in your team to drive the industry’s future?
RM: Thermo Fisher supports various projects in Brazil, including a training program with the national education institution Senai. Additionally, we offer students visits to our customer experience center to get to know us and our products firsthand. This is a way to share knowledge and inspire the next generations with science and its possibilities.
Regarding our team's skills, we follow a two-fold approach. Firstly, technical knowledge is crucial. Many of our team members in life sciences hold PhDs, enabling them to communicate effectively with our customers – Scientist to Scientist. They have expertise in biology, biomedicine, and bioinformatics, a rapidly growing field.
Secondly, we value talents that share our mission to help customers make the world healthier, cleaner, and safer. Connecting with the company's purpose and enjoying the process is vital to finding fulfillment in what we do. During the pandemic, our commitment was truly evident. While other businesses stopped, our customers needed equipment and reagents for testing. Our service and specialist teams went to great lengths, traveling long hours even when flights were scarce, to install equipment and support clinical labs in testing the population, showcasing our dedication and mission as a company.
EF: What are your proudest accomplishments as head of Thermo Fisher Brazil, and what do you look forward to in the future?
RM: The standout for me is our team's incredible effort during the pandemic and our continuous commitment. During the past years, we have focused on building a remarkable team, enhancing infrastructure, and expanding operations in Brazil and Latin America. We are creating a foundation for the future, and our growth and development will benefit society in many ways.
Thermo Fisher is well-positioned in the market and has outstanding talent and an impressive portfolio. Even though we face strong competition, our exceptional customers make a significant impact. We are building a legacy by continuously supporting our partners and aiding their research and production.
