Francophone West and Central Africa, General Manager and Network Lead, Roche Diagnostics
Johan Descombes – Francophone West and Central Africa, General Manager and Network Lead. My career journey with Roche in Pharmaceuticals – and, more recently, Diagnostics – has spanned 25 years. I have immersed myself in various international markets throughout my career, including Sweden, Switzerland, France, Algeria and several sub-Saharan African territories. I have dedicated the last decade of my career to cultivating public-private partnerships that pilot more efficient healthcare systems for African patients. In my current role, universal access to essential in-utero diagnostics is my mission. Spearheading innovative government funding models in Pharmaceuticals for favourable bulk pricing on essential treatments laid the foundations for me to drive Roche Diagnostics’ 10-year ambition in my current role – to deliver twice the medical advances at half the cost to society. I hope to see most African families living the long, happy lives they deserve. And to make this a reality, I cultivate partnerships for access. We cannot accomplish our ambitions alone, but Universal Healthcare is attainable if we work towards the common goal together.