Read the Conversation
Conversation highlights:
- Patient-Centric Mission in Africa: Malaika’s primary goal is to have a tangible, lasting impact on patients’ lives in Africa, emphasizing that even small steps matter due to the vulnerability of many patients across the continent.
- Expanding Access and Innovation: Novo Nordisk is focused on ensuring sustainable access to essential medicines (e.g., insulin, semaglutide) while working to establish obesity as a chronic disease and expand access to innovations in both diabetes and obesity care.
- Building Local Ecosystems: She stresses the importance of strong, multi-stakeholder partnerships, including governments, NGOs, and patient associations, to create sustainable healthcare ecosystems and improve patient pathways.
- Strategic Commitment to Africa: The creation of a dedicated Africa Business Area reflects Novo Nordisk’s belief in Africa’s potential, not just as a vulnerable region, but as a growth market seeking innovation and requiring attention to challenges like counterfeit drugs.
- Leadership and Talent Development: Malaika is committed to developing her team by aligning personal potential and ambition with company needs, fostering transparency, avoiding overpromising, and recognizing both managerial and expert career paths.
EF: What mission did you set for yourself in this new role? What do you all want to achieve in managing the Africa region, and how has it advanced after the first three quarters?
MD: There are two things I would like to achieve. The first one has never changed since I joined the pharma industry. From the beginning, my main objective has always been to make an impact on patients’ lives through better treatment.
When I was a student, I worked at a small pharmacy, but I wanted to make a bigger impact. That is why I joined the pharma industry. This goal has not changed, especially in Africa. Even the smallest step can make a difference because we are talking about some of the most vulnerable patients in the world. Every step matters.
This is something I make very clear to my team and to Novo Nordisk. Everything we do for patients in Africa can have a huge impact. It may look small at the scale of the industry, but for patients, it matters. I also hope these will be not only small steps but big ones, too.
The second thing, more internal, is about leadership. I hope to develop people to the highest level because, in the end, what matters is that everyone in our team has a positive impact on patients. It is my job to help them develop.
EF: So, could you summarise how this year has been and what the key priorities are for next year?
MD: I think one very important thing in Africa, more than in some other countries where I have worked, is that you really need to be fully aware of all geopolitical events. These can immediately impact patients, so it is good to understand the context well.
Looking at what we achieved this year, one of Novo Nordisk's key successes was ensuring a sustainable supply for patients living with diabetes. For obesity, we had a groundbreaking launch in South Africa, bringing the latest innovation to the country. Soon, we will also launch this product in Egypt and other African countries.
Two major achievements stand out. First, making sure that patients with diabetes or rare diseases have reliable access to treatment. Second, expanding access to innovation, especially in the field of obesity. But a key part of this is also working to establish obesity as a chronic disease, which is not yet fully recognized everywhere.
EF: Where is obesity already recognized and making a difference, and where do you see opportunities to drive change?
MD: I think, first, it means we need to establish partnerships and work closely with key stakeholders, such as governments, scientific societies, patient associations, NGOs in some places, and community stakeholders. This is very important in Africa. We really need to establish a strong ecosystem around patients living with obesity. That starts with understanding the current patient pathway and then seeing where we can improve it. But it is never done alone. Novo Nordisk is part of this ecosystem, but the key success factor is building strong partnerships with multiple stakeholders, both public and private.
EF: How do you define the strategic importance of Africa to Novo Nordisk?
MD: The creation of this new Business Area Africa shows that Novo Nordisk believes in the growth of Africa. With a team fully dedicated to Africa, we can drive more growth on the continent. And when we say more growth, that is also part of the pitch. If I had to pitch internally, I would say that in Africa, we need to do our best to address the needs of vulnerable patients. But Africa is not only about vulnerable patients.
My value with my team is to give a comprehensive view of Africa’s full potential. When people talk about Africa, they often focus on vulnerable patients, and Novo Nordisk is already doing a lot and remains committed to supporting them. But there are also patients who want and need more innovation. There is a real willingness in Africa to access innovation.
That is why we need to work with governments and other stakeholders to bring innovation to the continent and also to tackle the big challenge of counterfeit products. When you talk about Africa, you need to address this as well. So my pitch is actually quite simple. It is to show that the company already believes in Africa.
EF: How do you balance your priorities in such a large and diverse region, and how do you identify opportunities where you can make the biggest difference?
MD: First of all, I really think that diversity is a strength. Personally, I am the result of a double culture. My parents came from Algeria, and I was born and raised in France, so I have seen how exposure to different cultures shapes the way you think and lead. In Africa, this cultural diversity is a huge opportunity. The more you know and understand it, the more you can leverage it.
We have to embrace this diversity. It means adopting a market-fit approach. In some African countries, we need to clearly split the public and private pathways because they require completely different ways to drive change for patients living with chronic diseases.
To identify opportunities, we look at both. For vulnerable patients, the focus is often on public tenders to meet their needs. For the private market, especially in obesity and innovation, we assess the need using available data. For example, global obesity maps help us understand the number of patients who may require more innovative treatments.
In diabetes, we already have strong and long-term data. For obesity, it is newer, and in some countries it is still not recognized as a chronic disease, even though the World Health Organization recognized it over 25 years ago.
What is new and very important is that the WHO recently added Semaglutide to its essential medicines list. This is going to open a new way to approach the treatment of patients living with obesity and diabetes in Africa.
EF: How is your portfolio evolving?
MD: I am excited because I started at Novo Nordisk 11 years ago, and at the time, diabetes was one of the largest parts of the portfolio. One thing we are sure of is that we are still bringing innovation for patients living with diabetes.
What is very exciting now, because the unmet medical need is huge, is obesity. What matters to us is a sustainable and long-term partnership. When we enter a new disease area, it is never a one-shot approach. We have a long-term vision, like we have had for over 100 years in diabetes. It is the same for obesity. We started with the first generation, now we have the second, and I know the third and fourth are coming. This is something very strong to anchor Novo Nordisk as a key player in bringing innovation and driving change for patients living with obesity.
For rare diseases, when I look at Africa, we are already present for patients living with hemophilia and growth hormone conditions. But I think the biggest change, and I hope it will come through clinical trials, is to bring effective treatment for patients with sickle cell disease. Today, treatment options are very limited, and if we are successful with this clinical trial, it will mean a huge change for these patients. Two-thirds of them are on the African continent.
And talking about cardiovascular, like in most places in the world, cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in many countries, and it is the same in Africa. We have big hopes for patients living with CVD, and we are doing everything we can to bring innovation to the continent as soon as possible. This is something we need to push strongly within Novo Nordisk. The creation of the Business Area Africa clearly shows that we need to bring innovation faster to Africa.
EF: What does access mean to you?
MD: Access means, in a simple way, that we are able to put the treatment a patient needs directly in their hands. When we talk about access, it means I am the connector between what is needed and the solution. My role is to identify the patient’s need and connect it to the right solution. In short, it is like a mathematical connection. I connect the dots.
But I think, as I have been saying, connecting the dots is not as easy as it sounds. We need to understand what in the patient ecosystem needs improvement, development, or greater visibility. First, we need to truly understand the patient’s needs, but we cannot do it alone. We must work with governments, patient associations, community stakeholders, and NGOs to ensure that the ecosystem is strong enough to support sustainable solutions.
We are talking about chronic diseases, which means any solution we bring must be sustainable. It is not enough to provide treatment once or twice for a few months; it needs to last. That is why my role is not just connecting the dots; it is ensuring that the system is strong and sustainable.
For example, for vulnerable patients, we have the flagship program iCARE, developed in Africa for African patients. Today, it reaches around 500,000 patients. With iCARE, we build the capacity of healthcare providers and caregivers who care for the patient. We also work on affordability. Access is not just about bringing the patient to a place; it is also about who pays and at what price.
We consider urban versus rural populations. For example, cold chain management is critical for products like insulin. We ensure that the product maintains quality all the way to the patient’s home.
Empowerment is also key. Everyone in the system needs to be empowered, but most importantly, the patient must be empowered. Patients live with their chronic disease every day, so we focus on education to ensure treatments are taken correctly and consistently. For children, we also educate their families.
Programs like iCARE started in Africa and have since been exported to other regions, including parts of Asia. This shows that Africa is not only a place of need but also a source of innovative solutions that can be applied globally.
We also have another program, but this is a global one called Changing Diabetes in Children, which focuses on patients. The main objective is that no child should die from type 1 diabetes. For specific children, we provide this treatment for free.
There is also another program for vulnerable patients. For obesity, one key pillar is prevention, and we have a prevention program in place. A new activity was implemented in Soweto, because if we want to leverage the growth of the African continent and contribute to its economic development, we need healthy people, and living with obesity is not healthy.
EF: How are you developing people and teams to perform at their best and make an impact for patients?
MD: Developing people is the most rewarding thing you can do. You see the impact not only externally on patients but also, daily, on the people you work with internally. This is, I think, the most fulfilling part of the job.
How do we do it? My role is maybe as a connector. I connect someone’s potential and willingness to the company’s needs. We have regular conversations with each team member, and they do the same with their teams. We need to understand what someone wants to do, but also what they realistically can do. Sometimes, what we want and what is possible are not the same, so these conversations are crucial.
Transparency is key. One important success factor is to never overpromise. We need to be transparent about what people want, what they can do, and what the company needs, so that at the end, there is a match between individual potential and organizational goals. I mean, we know that not everyone will be a manager, because many people think being a manager is the best role, but it is not for everyone. The company also needs strong experts, and we really rely on them.
At the same time, we need to make sure everyone is recognized in their current role for the value they bring. I think this is the first step in development, being recognized where you are. After that, it is about exploring the next steps, whether developing further in your current job or preparing for another role. We need to have these regular, transparent conversations and never, never, never overpromise. We cannot all be CEO.
EF: Do you have any final message or anything you would like to share?
MD: One thing I would like to say to people is: stay tuned, you will be inspired by what is happening in Africa.
