Egypt is rapidly emerging as a vital hub in the evolving global healthcare landscape. With its significant population, skilled talent, and a government deeply committed to health, the country presents a unique opportunity for accelerated innovation and improved patient outcomes. GSK recognizes this potential, reinforcing its long-term commitment to Egypt by prioritizing innovation, vaccines, and access to medicines.
We recently sat down with Dr. Mohamed El-Dababy, GSK's Regional President for Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, and Eastern Europe. In this exclusive interview, Dr. El-Dababy shares his strategic vision for the next phase, detailing Egypt's crucial role within GSK's regional strategy. He also discusses how the company plans to capitalize on growth opportunities, enhance access to groundbreaking vaccines and medicines, champion scientific research, and cultivate high-performing teams to deliver lasting health benefits for patients."
1. Vision: Congratulations on your appointment as Regional Head for Africa, the Middle East, and countries of Eastern Europe. As you step into this pivotal role, what are your immediate priorities and your overarching vision?
Answer: Thank you, it is a privilege to take on this role. My immediate priority is to connect deeply with our teams across the region. To better understand the unique dynamics and opportunities in each market.
My overarching vision is to significantly enhance our ability to deliver better health outcomes for patients. Ensuring our innovative medicines and vaccines reach those who need them the most. Help protect people and support healthcare systems across the region. While fostering sustainable growth and strengthening our partnerships within the healthcare ecosystem.
For Egypt, there is a significant opportunity to leverage a strong talent pool to drive growth and innovation. to prevent and change the course of disease, I see Egypt as a market of immense strategic importance and opportunity for pharmaceutical companies like GSK. Beyond its strong talent pool, for driving innovation and preventing disease, there are several compelling factors:
Egypt demographics: boasts a large, young, and growing population. This translates to a substantial and increasing demand for healthcare services and innovative medicines, addressing both communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Governmental Commitment to Healthcare Reform: The government's ambitious Vision 2030, alongside the ongoing rollout of the Universal Health Insurance System, signals a strong commitment to improving healthcare access, quality, and outcomes for all citizens. This creates a highly conducive environment for partnerships and investment in healthcare infrastructure and services.
Emerging Innovation Hub: Egypt is increasingly becoming a hub for digital transformation and technological adoption. For pharma, this opens doors for leveraging digital health solutions, telemedicine, AI in diagnostics, and data analytics to improve patient engagement, education, and adherence.
Localization and Supply Chain Resilience: There's a growing emphasis on strengthening local manufacturing capabilities and supply chain resilience. This presents opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to explore local production, technology transfer, and deeper integration into the domestic healthcare ecosystem, ensuring a more stable and accessible supply of essential medicines.
Addressing Unmet Medical Needs: With evolving disease patterns and an increasing prevalence of chronic conditions, there's a continuous need for advanced therapeutic options and preventative solutions, particularly in areas like oncology, immunology, and infectious diseases – key focus areas for GSK.
By strategically engaging with these opportunities, we can not only drive growth but also make a profound and lasting positive impact on public health in Egypt.
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2. Egyptian talent and leadership journey: Your career journey is impressive, culminating in this significant leadership role. Given your deep roots in Egypt, what do you think is the reason for Egypt's strong record in developing top pharma executives?
Answer: Egypt possesses a large. unique and dynamic healthcare ecosystem. Alongside inherent market complexity. This environment fosters resilience, strategic thinking, and a deep understanding of diverse patient needs. Egypt also has some of the world's most knowledgeable and capable healthcare experts. This rich tradition of expertise across the public and private sectors and in academia. Is handed down from generation to generation and is a key reason Egypt continues to develop top talent.
My own journey started within this complex landscape. This taught me invaluable lessons in adapting to rapid change, navigating an intricate regulatory environment, and building strong, capable teams. The exposure to a broad spectrum of healthcare challenges and opportunities in Egypt undoubtedly laid a solid foundation. Equipping me with the strategic mindset and operational expertise necessary to lead this diverse region.
I was also fortunate to have served in global roles that allowed me to work in European markets such as the UK and Germany. This mix of market and global roles has profoundly enhanced my knowledge and understanding. My most recent role as Vice President of Global Product Strategy, based in the UK, saw me deliver major launches, driving robust growth across the globe. Prior to that, I gained strategic and operational expertise across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, driving business growth, market expansion, and organisational transformation in complex markets. Starting my career in a complex market like Egypt, while also holding regional and global roles, has contributed greatly to my journey.
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3. GSK’s Long-Term Commitment to Egyptian Patients: GSK has a long-standing presence in Egypt. How do you see GSK’s long-term commitment to Egyptian patients evolving under your leadership?
Answer: Our commitment to Egyptian patients is steadfast and deeply embedded in GSK's purpose: to unite science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together. GSK has a remarkable history in Egypt, spanning over 100 years, demonstrating our enduring dedication to the nation's health. We reinforce this commitment through local manufacturing of most of our products, and our presence on the Egyptian Stock Exchange further solidifies our integration into both the Egyptian economy and its vital healthcare ecosystem.
Under my leadership, we will focus on accelerating the availability of our innovative portfolio – particularly our specialty medicines and vaccines – while strengthening local partnerships to ensure equitable access. We will also invest in initiatives that support the broader health system, ensuring sustainable access to essential and innovative medicines.
We aim to provide innovative medicines across a wide number of therapeutic areas, actively contributing to the health and well-being of the Egyptian population. We are dedicated to ensuring that our advancements translate into tangible, long-term improvements in patient lives, aligning with our global ambition to positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade.
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4. Accelerating innovation in Egypt: With your experience in successful global product launches, how does GSK plan to accelerate the introduction of new, innovative medications into the Egyptian market?
Answer: Our responsibility is ensuring that new, innovative medications reach patients who need them most. My experience with global launches, including blockbuster brands, has taught me the critical importance of a robust market access strategy. Along with early stakeholder engagement and efficient regulatory pathways. For Egypt, we will focus on streamlining our processes, working closely with the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA), and building strong awareness among healthcare professionals.
Our goal is to ensure that when a new, life-changing medicine or vaccine becomes available, Egyptian patients can benefit from it as swiftly and broadly as possible. This aligns with our strategy of prevention and intervening early. We have successfully launched new innovative products in Egypt over recent years. New products introduced cover adult and paediatric vaccinations, respiratory diseases, and oncology. We will continue to ensure that the best-in-class medications are available in Egypt as we introduce new products for the benefit of Egyptian patients.
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5. Partnership with Governmental Healthcare Bodies: The support and collaboration of governmental bodies are crucial for advancing healthcare. How do you envision GSK’s partnership with key Egyptian healthcare authorities, such as the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH)?
Answer: Collaboration with governmental bodies like the EDA and MOH is fundamental to further strengthening the healthcare ecosystem and improving patient outcomes. Also vital is our partnership with other stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem, such as the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement (UPA), the Health Insurance Organization (HIO), and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. We also work closely with research institutions, public hospitals, and universities, among other key government entities.
These partnerships are built on mutual trust, transparency, and a shared vision for improving public health. This means proactively engaging in policy discussions. Sharing global best practices, joint capacity building projects, and supporting initiatives for patient safety and access. Our aim is to be a trusted partner working together with the government to address specific health challenges. GSK contributes not only through our medicines and vaccines but also through our expertise and unwavering commitment to strengthening Egypt’s healthcare infrastructure. This reflects our culture of doing the right thing and being accountable for impact.
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6. Prioritising Prevention and Vaccination: Prevention is a cornerstone of public health. What are GSK’s strategic priorities for expanding access to and awareness of both adult and paediatric vaccination?
Answer: Prevention, particularly through vaccination, is a core area of GSK’s expertise and a critical component of public health. It is a prime example of our strategy in intervening early to prevent disease. In Egypt, our priorities will include working with health authorities and medical associations to collectively overcome existing barriers. Overcoming barriers will require a multi-faceted approach. This includes education, awareness, addressing vaccine hesitancy, ensuring equitable distribution, and affordability. GSK is deeply committed to supporting all these efforts, leveraging our global expertise to impact health at scale.
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7. Enhancing local research and clinical trials: To foster a truly advanced healthcare system, local research and clinical trials are vital. What steps do you believe are necessary to enhance Egypt's capabilities in pharmaceutical research and discovery?
Answer: Enhancing local research and clinical trial capabilities is crucial for advancing medical knowledge. and tailored treatments to local populations. To achieve this, we need to foster a supportive regulatory environment, invest in developing local scientific talent, and facilitate collaboration between academia, industry, and healthcare providers.
GSK can contribute significantly by exploring opportunities for local clinical trials and sharing scientific expertise. GSK can potentially partner with local research institutions to build capacity and drive innovation. This aligns perfectly with our purpose to unite science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease. Ensuring that local insights contribute to global advancements and benefit Egyptian patients.
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8. Navigating market complexity for growth: What are the unique opportunities and challenges you anticipate in the region, and specifically in Egypt? How will you guide GSK through these to deliver better health outcomes?
Answer: "The region is incredibly diverse, offering significant opportunities for growth due to evolving healthcare needs and expanding populations., The region also presents challenges such as varying regulatory landscapes, economic and social differences, and diverse healthcare access models.
GSK will concentrate on tailoring our approach to each country, leveraging data-driven insights, and building agile teams capable of responding effectively. In Egypt, this means capitalising on the market size and strategic importance. While proactively addressing challenges to ensure sustainable growth. Most importantly, we will deliver on our promise of better health outcomes for patients. Our focus will be on maintaining our trusted general medicine portfolio and growing our specialty medicines and vaccines. Aiming to impact health at scale, this includes a focus on oncology, respiratory disease, and vaccinations for paediatrics and adults,
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9. Building High-Performing Teams Across the Region: You are known for your talent in building competent and motivated teams that consistently deliver results. As you take on this new role, what is your philosophy for fostering a high-performing culture across the region, ensuring talent development?
Answer: My philosophy for building high-performing teams centres on empowering individuals, fostering a culture of ownership, and promoting continuous learning. In a region as diverse as this means embracing local expertise and encouraging cross-market collaboration.
I believe in providing clear strategic direction while allowing for local execution. Investing in talent development, recognising achievements, and ensuring everyone understands how their contribution impacts our goal: of delivering for patients. This aligns with GSK's culture of being ambitious for patients, accountable for impact, and doing the right thing. A motivated team, united by our purpose to get ahead of disease together, is the bedrock of consistent, exceptional results.
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10. Measuring Impact on Patients and Public Health: Beyond business metrics, how will you measure success in your new role in terms of the tangible health outcomes and quality of life improvements?
Answer: While business metrics are important for sustainable growth, true success will be based on our tangible impact on patient lives and public health. This includes tracking key health outcomes related to our therapeutic areas. This includes reductions in disease burden, improved survival rates, and enhanced quality of life for patients.
Our success depends on how effectively we are fulfilling GSK’s purpose of uniting science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together. Our ambition is to make a meaningful difference to the health of 2.5 billion people by 2030, with Egypt playing a crucial role in that ambition, and every improvement in a patient's life contributing to that vital goal."
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