Cairo, Egypt:– Roche, the leading Swiss pharmaceutical company, and The American University in Cairo (AUC) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to undertake a common vision to support the development of the healthcare sector and the standard of care offered to Egyptian patients through empowering the Egyptian patients’ organizations.

The MoU focuses on three key areas: external education through patient association groups (PAGs), research and development, as well as internal capacity building.

“Our partnership with AUC fully aligns with our vision of providing better outcomes for more Egyptian patients faster,” said Mohamed Swilam, General Manager, Roche Egypt. “Partnering with patients to further understand their everyday lives is essential to develop the right patient outcomes and deliver on them with less cost to society,” said Swilam. “Through our collaboration with AUC and by working closely together with the patient community we can make an even greater difference for patients by moving toward truly personalized healthcare.”

“The  MoU with Roche supports our shared vision of developing the Egyptian healthcare system and ensuring that involved stakeholders are well equipped and empowered to make better healthcare decisions through education,” said AUC Provost Ehab Abdel-Rahman.

“At AUC, our primary goal is to achieve academic excellence and access the highest levels of proficiency to enable all our students to meet the challenges ahead. Our partnership with Roche provides a unique opportunity to advance the healthcare sector in Egypt using our respective expertise and skills for the benefit of the community.”

The three-year MoU includes a range of Egyptian healthcare sector initiatives that leverage the core competent ices of both organizations. Roche will support the capacity building of patient association groups (PAGs) from different disease areas by sponsoring curriculums created by AUC to help upscale their capabilities. Roche will also consult with the Public Policy and Research HUBs in AUC to support the PAGs in building advocacy in a specific disease area.

In addition, the MOU also provides an opportunity for Roche to partner with AUC on research projects that fall within the company’s areas of interest, while AUC will develop a capability building program for the development of Roche employees and will set criteria to choose students to benefit from the support offered by Roche.

Roche has extensive experience engaging with PAGs worldwide and has its own PAGs global conference: International Experience Exchange with Patient Organizations (IEEPO), a patient-led community with over 1000 patient group representatives determined to achieve this purpose. It enables patient communities to take a seat at the table with all stakeholders and have an equal voice in the healthcare ecosystem and in decision-making. IEEPO is organized in partnership with an independent Chair and an External Advisory Committee (EAC) of global leaders in patient advocacy.

“We believe our collaboration with AUC will support the development of a resilient healthcare system for patients especially public sector patients through patient association groups across the country, and further develop the healthcare sector in Egypt,” Added Swilam.

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About Roche

Roche is a global pioneer in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics focused on advancing science to improve people’s lives. The combined strengths of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, as well as growing capabilities in the area of data-driven medical insights help Roche deliver truly personalised healthcare. Roche is working with partners across the healthcare sector to provide the best care for each person.

Roche is the world’s largest biotech company, with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology and diseases of the central nervous system. Roche is also the world leader in in vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, and a frontrunner in diabetes management. In recent years, Roche has invested in genomic profiling and real-world data partnerships and has become an industry-leading partner for medical insights.

Founded in 1896, Roche continues to search for better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases and make a sustainable contribution to society. The company also aims to improve patient access to medical innovations by working with all relevant stakeholders. More than thirty medicines developed by Roche are included in the World Health Organization Model Lists of Essential Medicines, among them life-saving antibiotics, antimalarials and cancer medicines. Moreover, for the twelfth consecutive year, Roche has been recognised as one of the most sustainable companies in the Pharmaceuticals Industry by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI).

The Roche Group, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, is active in over 100 countries and in 2020 employed more than 100,000 people worldwide. In 2020, Roche invested CHF 12.2 billion in R&D and posted sales of CHF 58.3 billion. Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan. For more information, please visit www.roche.com.