Novartis grows by 15%: CPO Head and Country President

The Daily News Egypt interviewed Novartis’ CPO Head and Country President Basyouni Abouseif and chief scientific officer at the company, Sameh Rakha, to discuss the company’s progress in Egypt, and the introduction of breakthrough medications in Egypt.

Could you tell us more about Novartis Egypt?

Abouseif: Novartis is a company that has been in Egypt since 1962. It was one of the first companies that were initiated in Egypt and we’ve been more than 50 years serving the pharmaceutical industry in Egypt. Novartis was established as a joint venture company between CIBA, GEIGY, Sandoz and Wander under the name of Swiss Pharma. In 1970, CIBA and GEIGY merged to become CIBA-GEIGY. Finally in 1996, Novartis was created worldwide with the merger of CIBA GEIGY and Sandoz. Novartis is committed to providing solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. The company provides a unique portfolio that meets diverse healthcare requirements. In Egypt, Novartis consists of the divisions of Pharma, Novartis Consumer Health over the Counter (OTC), Sister Companies of Alcon (eye care products) and Sandoz (generics). This is why we have strong presence in Egypt. Novartis Egypt employs over 1,750 associates at the manufacturing site and scientific offices and has more than 50 marketed pharmaceutical brands that cover a wide range of therapeutic areas including oncology, blood diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, organ transplant, neuroscience, ophthalmology, respiratory diseases, rheumatism and arthritis.

Since the company was initiated, we had one clear mission to “Care and Cure”. The mission has evolved over years, and our golden theme now is to “ensure providing the right medication to the right patient at the right time”.