You probably started your day like we did today – with a list of things that needed to be accomplished, a calendar full of appointments and a strong cup of coffee to get us through the first 30 minutes.
Like us, you probably also came across several hundred brands on route to work. Most brands have mission statements or taglines that tell you what they’re about and what they stand for.
So we thought it apt to kick off our first In Focus post by talking about who we are and why Doing now what patients need next stands as our purpose statement.
These words hold tremendous meaning for us. They guide our work each and every day. They help us pressure test our decisions. They are personal to us. They have to be because every decision we make has the potential to change someone’s life.
Our business is about one thing – health – the core of what we all need to live long, happy and productive lives. So we work to find new ways of doing things, to innovate, and to discover. We strive to understand human biology and disease. We push ourselves to answer questions that remain a mystery for the medical community. We strive to discover new ways of diagnosing and treating illness, and ultimately changing the way health care is delivered.
We are proud of the work we do. In 2016, nearly one in three Canadians was tested using a Roche Diagnostics product, and our medicines were used to treat more than 360,000 Canadians.1 To us, these people are more than just patients – they’re our families, our friends, and our colleagues.
We look at the big picture
It’s important for us to draw on our personal experiences in the work we do. When the average person thinks about the pharmaceutical industry, they think about medicines, about large manufacturing plants, and about scientists in lab coats staring into microscopes. But if you take a step back, you’ll see people – people with families who have battled cancer for generations; people taking care of parents and grandparents living with dementia; people with friends who have lost mobility to neurological disorders.
So, for us, health care is not just about medicines. It’s about the big picture. We specialize in both diagnostics and pharmaceuticals, looking at the whole person and the full cycle of care, from early detection and prevention to diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring.
This broad view not only guides our research, but also shapes our investment strategy. We start by asking ourselves: Where is the need and how can we make the biggest impact? This desire to make a difference fuels us to push the boundaries of medicine and technology to develop new and better solutions for the people who need them. The fact that we’ve led the industry globally in research and development spending for the past four years speaks to this commitment.
Through three independent Pharmaceutical Research and Development (R&D) teams competing head-to-head, and four Diagnostics R&D groups, we strive to act on the most exciting and promising science. And while each of our development teams has a different R&D process, our Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics Divisions work together, sharing research facilities, technologies and discoveries. Looking at the big picture is fundamental to how we shape science and human life.
But we know that we don’t have all the answers. And for every person that is helped by one of our diagnostics or medicines, there are many more who still need better options. So we push ourselves. We think about people who need us to work harder, to work smarter, to work today for their tomorrow.
We lead by example
We know we have a responsibility to patients, families, and healthcare providers that goes well beyond the medicines and diagnostics we develop.
We have a responsibility to ensure patient safety and privacy, to be transparent, to be sustainable and socially responsible, and to provide resources, education, as well as support to those who need it. We are guided not only by Innovative Medicines Canada’s Code of Ethical Practices, but also by our own high standards.
Our purpose of “doing now what patients need next” is a daily reminder that people’s health is our priority. While health care is becoming more personalized, we want to ensure it doesn’t become less personal…because for us, it is.
March 2, 2017
Previous In Focus posts
1. Please be advised that the patient numbers are estimated using data from market research studies as well as sales and prescribing data and therefore represent an approximation of the number of patients treated.