Roche, a 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 Egyptian patients’ organizations.
Industry sources added that this MoU focuses upon three core areas: external education through patient association groups (PAGs), research and development, as well as internal capacity building.
Mohamed Swilam, General Manager, Roche Egypt stated “Our partnership with AUC fully aligns with our vision of providing better outcomes for more Egyptian patients faster. 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. 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.”
AUC Provost Ehab Abdel-Rahman stated “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. 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.”
“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.
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.
Industry sources added that 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.