Read the Conversation
Conversation highlights:
- Roche´s three strategic priorities in Argentina: expanding equitable access across the country, leveraging innovation to decentralize care, and ensuring long-term sustainability while broadening access to innovation.
- Positioning Argentina as an emerging healthcare innovation hub: Improving macroeconomic stability, strong clinical research, and regulatory changes are increasing the country's global competitiveness.
- Strategic investment to strengthen access and decentralization of care at the provincial level, improving access to new healthcare technologies across the country. Innovative delivery methods bring healthcare closer to where patients live, enhancing their experience while optimizing hospital resources and enabling a more efficient distribution of medical services throughout Argentina.
- Partnerships to enhance patient pathways and regional capacity: Multi-stakeholder alliances such as Transformar Salud with Fundación Garrahan or the Alliance for Breast Cancer with other pharma companies, and academia, alongside new provincial agreements like Córdoba, focused on improving patients' journey in the interior and helping the system towards a better use of existing health budgets.
- Digitalization and AI as concrete enablers of impact: AI and digital tools are seen as essential to improve efficiency and outcomes, with active internal adoption and concrete external projects already in place, from SMA apps and retinal disease detection to upcoming tools in multiple sclerosis, positioning Argentina to fully leverage digital health.
EF: Looking ahead to 2026, what are your top priorities as Country Manager, and where is Roche Argentina focusing its efforts in the years ahead?
MPO: At Roche, we are guided by a long-term vision: to stop, prevent, and cure diseases. This vision shapes everything we do across our organization. Our goal is to truly change lives by anticipating the future needs of patients and healthcare systems. We are focused on scientific innovation. As one of the largest investors in clinical trials in Argentina, our focus is on improving patient outcomes in diseases with the highest societal burden, so we all have more time with the people we love. Based on this, we are working around three main priorities.
The first is driving a more equitable and accessible healthcare system. Argentina is a large country, and there is still work to do to ensure that people, regardless of where they live, can access the healthcare they deserve. We are investing across provinces, particularly in people and education, to help reduce these gaps.
The second priority is supporting the decentralization of healthcare through innovation and technology. For example, subcutaneous treatments can free up time for patients and the healthcare system, allowing care to be delivered closer to where people live. This requires close collaboration with healthcare authorities, and is a key focus for us.
The third priority is contributing to the sustainability of the healthcare system. We want to ensure that innovation reaches the patients who need it, while also supporting a system that is financially and structurally sustainable. In synthesis, this means balancing faster access to innovation with broader access across the country, and working closely with stakeholders to make this possible.
EF: From your perspective, what makes Argentina a hub for investment, and which foundations or strategic pillars enable the country to drive innovation locally?
MPO: Argentina is going through a positive transition in terms of macroeconomics and overall stability.
GDP growth is forecasted to be well above the global average in the coming years, with growth of around 4 to 4.5 percent expected in 2026 and a similar level in 2027. This is very positive news for the country. Other key factors include better control of inflation and greater exchange rate stability. This brings predictability, which is essential for attracting investment. If Argentina wants to position itself as an innovation hub, predictability is a critical enabler, and as investors, this is something we value highly.
Roche has been present in Argentina for 95 years, and we are celebrating that anniversary this year. Our commitment to the country has always been strong, and it is further reinforced by the positive momentum we see today.
In pharma, innovation relies heavily on clinical trials, and Argentina has the potential to become a leading hub in Latin America in this area. Roche is investing significantly. Last year alone, we invested more than 60 million dollars in clinical trials in Argentina.
Argentina combines strong scientific talent with improving regulatory conditions, which are very positive for clinical research.
We are currently running several trials across cardiology, neurology, obesity, and metabolic diseases. All of them are truly exciting, for example, Alzheimer's disease, where a blood-based test already innovates the identification of biomarkers linked to disease prognosis, and where we are conducting phase three trials integrating both diagnostics and innovative treatment.
Another important pillar of innovation in Argentina is technology and digital healthcare. Compared to other countries in the region, Argentina is slightly ahead in areas such as electronic clinical records. While this transformation is still at an early stage, the foundation is there.
Argentina is also a hub for technological talent. We actively support this through collaborations and alliances across the country. One example is our partnership with the Garrahan Foundation through our Transformar Salud program. This initiative brings together healthcare institutions from all 23 provinces to present projects on how technology can improve healthcare delivery. While Roche is not a technology company, we want to contribute by helping accelerate better outcomes for patients through the responsible use of technology.
EF: You mentioned partnerships as a key enabler. How can collaboration between hospitals, MedTech companies, laboratories, and the government help build a more sustainable healthcare system in Argentina, and how is Roche contributing to this today?
MPO: Alliances are a highly effective way to address complex challenges. When different stakeholders share the same purpose, we can create a much greater impact by working together. In 2026, we are focusing on private-public collaboration with local institutions and government to support our key priorities of equitable access countrywide and decentralization of care.
We are proud of a recent strategic alliance with the Superintendence of Health Services. This partnership directly tackles system fragmentation and cost inefficiencies to ensure timely and equitable access for hemophilia patients, resulting in a dramatic reduction in delivery time—from up to 90 days to just 9 days (including approval times).
This type of collaboration is not common; however, enabling children with hemophilia to live full lives is a shared purpose that brings us together.
We are also developing new partnerships with governments at the provincial level. A recent example is an agreement with the legislative chamber in Córdoba, a key province for the country, with a large and geographically spread population. Many patients live far from major urban centers where the healthcare needs are significant. Through this agreement, we are exploring ways to improve decentralization and collaboration beyond the provincial capital.
This is paired with our broader strategy to invest more human and financial resources in the interior of the country, to strengthen healthcare where medical needs are greatest.
EF: AI and digital efficiency are now central to healthcare. How is Roche approaching this transformation?
MPO: Historically, Argentina has had a relatively good level of healthcare investment compared with other countries in Latin America. The real challenge today is not investing more, but investing more efficiently. This is closely linked to the macroeconomic context. The current positive trends are the result of a significant fiscal adjustment, which has also affected healthcare.
Even though the healthcare budget has increased by around 17 percent compared to last year, efficiency remains the key issue. We need to ensure that resources are used in the most effective way. This is where technology and AI become essential tools for the healthcare system.
From Roche’s perspective, we see AI and digital technologies as enablers. They are here to support the healthcare system, companies, and employees. We actively promote their use across the organization through training and by leading by example.
We believe AI can make work more productive and improve decision-making. We do not see AI as a shortcut or a risk, but as a way to work better. We already use several tools on a regular basis, including platforms such as Notebook LM, Gemini, and digital tools for video preparation and daily workflows.
Many technologies already exist. What is new is the ability of artificial intelligence to connect large amounts of data, generate insights, and translate them into practical solutions.
Beyond Roche, I am convinced that AI and digital technologies will play a transformative role in healthcare. It is important for Argentina to adopt them in a timely way and fully leverage this opportunity.
We are already seeing concrete results. For example, together with Hospital Garrahan, we developed a digital application to support pediatric patients with spinal muscular atrophy. The platform allows patients to report outcomes and enables physicians to manage the disease in a more holistic way, integrating medical, therapeutic, and psychological care.
We are also using AI in ophthalmology to identify early retinal problems. This year, we want to enable a new tool for multiple sclerosis that uses AI to analyse MRI scans and detect early signs of treatment failure that may not always be easily visible. This is a concrete example of how AI can improve clinical decision-making and patient outcomes, particularly in remote locations.
EF: Looking five years ahead, what would you like to achieve personally and as a company, and how do you see the industry evolving?
MPO: I am very positive about the outlook. Despite the constraints we have faced in recent years, particularly in the pharmaceutical market volumes, I believe that improving macroeconomic conditions could unlock significant growth over the next five years.
From a company perspective, Roche is already a leader in the non-retail pharmaceutical market, as measured by IQVIA. My ambition is not only to maintain that leadership, but also to help expand the market. This means growth not just in value, but in the number of patients who can benefit from innovation. For us, innovation only matters if it reaches patients.
Looking ahead, I see the industry continuing to shift toward prevention and health promotion, which will be increasingly important. At the same time, innovation will play a critical role in preventing, stopping, or even curing highly complex diseases, where unmet medical needs drive high societal burden, such as neurological or cardio-metabolism. The growing presence of biosimilars will also help reduce costs, making it possible to sustain this balance and support a more sustainable healthcare system overall.
EF: What advice would you give your younger self, and to the next generation starting their careers?
MPO: Trust yourself. We all have different capabilities, and it is precisely in that uniqueness that our strength lies. If you truly commit to what you want to do, you can achieve it.
Second, do not be afraid to dream big. Stay connected to what makes you happy and fulfilled. When you align what you love to do with what you are good at, work becomes deeply rewarding.
Trust yourself, dream big, and go after what truly motivates you.
