Tagged with Rare Diseases

Austria Rudolf Widmann, CEO and founder of AOP Orphan, the first rare disease-specific European company, discusses the overriding goal to ensure rare disease patients are matched with the correct treatments and the importance of open dialogue with specialists and patient groups. Furthermore, he highlights the need to differentiate health technology assessments…

Austria Dr. Wolfgang Schnitzel, general manager of Shire Austria, and Karl-Heinz Hofbauer, site lead Vienna and managing director for the Technical Operations business, discuss the huge impact of Shire’s 32 billion USD acquisition of Baxalta that has grown the workforce from a few Shire employees in Austria to 3,500. Furthermore, they…

Colombia Gianfranco Biliotti, recently appointed General Manager for Alexion Colombia, shares his insights on the particularities of operating in the ultra-rare disease segment, while highlighting the importance of managerial flexibility, the company’s unmatched patient-centricity and close ties with doctors, the role of education in improving patients’ lives and his strategic priorities…

Ireland James Lennertz, Group VP and GM EUMEA for BioMarin, discusses the key highlights of the past few years for BioMarin, their unique positioning as a company offering innovative therapies for ultra-rare diseases, the main challenge he sees for BioMarin’s international operations, and his priorities for the next few years. James,…

Switzerland Specializing in ultra-rare diseases, Alexion targets patient populations of less than 20 patients per million. Christophe Bourdon discusses Alexion’s progress towards developing access for patients across the EMEA region.   Since day one, Alexion’s mission has been to focus solely on discovering treatments for patients affected by these incredibly rare…

Mexico Leonardo Torres, general manager Mexico, Central America & Caribbean of Shire, provides insights into the rapidly progressing integration of Baxalta in Mexico, while he also highlights his key priorities to further accelerate the growth and consolidate the strategic positioning of Shire, a company that now proudly stands out as the…

Switzerland Dr. Andrea Michael Meyer, general manager of Sanofi Genzyme Switzerland, reveals how the Swiss business has been experiencing year-on-year double-digit growth; how rare diseases was the foundation of Sanofi Genzyme´s business and remains a key part of their DNA; and how a focus on patient centricity remains at the core…

Ireland Julie O’Neill, Alexion’s EVP for Global Operations highlights Alexion’s establishment of its Global Supply Chain headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, its investment in Athlone, her thoughts on the opportunities and challenges in the Irish pharmaceutical landscape, and her vision for Alexion. Alexion first established a manufacturing presence in Dublin, Ireland in…

Pharma Patrice Carayon, CEO of Chiesi France, reveals how Chiesi is one of a select few international mid-size pharmaceutical companies in France to have both an R&D and production footprint to accompany its commercial activities; how they will look to continue to establish themselves in their three main areas: respiratory diseases,…

rare diseases The country manager of a leading German chemical and pharmaceutical company sheds light on her company’s activities in the rare diseases segment and speaks about the multiple benefits of promoting home care and greater patient autonomy. You are known for your medicines against diseases that are often neglected, such as…

biotech The general manager in charge of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean is on board with the corporate mission of doubling Shire’s product sales to USD 10 billion by 2020 and explains how Mexico and the rest of the region will contribute to this achievement. You were appointed head of…

orphan drugs Gabriela Pittis discusses the Argentinian healthcare system’s ability to diagnose, treat, and regulate rare diseases, and the country’s progress in further developing what is already the region’s most comprehensive system in this regard.   Is the Argentinian system able to reliably diagnose and treat rare diseases? “Rare diseases” is a…