“Our challenge is to make it easier for Moroccan patients to access the most innovative therapeutic treatments”
Perseverance, ethics and integrity. Three words dear to Sanaa Sayagh. Three words that have guided the current MD of Roche Maroc, and mother of two daughters, through a promising career in the pharmaceutical industry. At the age of 49 and after 25 years in the profession within the same company, nothing seems more foreign to her, however, than careerism. Humble and curious, as she herself admits with a generous smile: “I simply seized the opportunities that came my way, and the chance of the people I met”.
Born in Rabat, Ms Sayagh left Morocco at the age of 17 to study Pharmacy in Spain for six years. “I loved chemistry and everything related to it. But I had no particular ambition for the pharmaceutical industry. You know, when you are young, you don’t really know what you want to do”, she confides. Once she had her degree in her pocket, she left the land of Cervantes to look for a job in the Kingdom because “at the time, regulations did not allow you to practise a liberal profession before the age of 25 in Morocco”.
“It would be the first and only job of my entire career”
In 1994, back home, a long love story with the company Roche began. Sanaa Sayagh landed her first job in Casablanca with this specialist in the manufacture and marketing of pharmaceutical products. “It would be the first and only job of my entire career”, explains this lover of jazz and classical music. Working in regulatory affairs, her task was to compile the local dossiers and adapt the parent company’s products so that they complied with Moroccan regulations. Project by project, she was promoted to head of unit, then head of department. In 2000, she was appointed Responsible Pharmacist of Roche Maroc, guarantor of the compliance of the group’s activities, and was one of the youngest pharmacists to be promoted to this position. With an in-depth knowledge of the economic, social and regulatory environment of the healthcare sector in Morocco, she successfully led numerous access programmes, which earned her a further promotion in 2012 to the position of Director of Pharmaceutical and Commercial Affairs, before being propelled to the head of Roche Maroc in 2018.
“There are many challenges to take on in Morocco”
“Since I started at this fine company, Roche has always placed the patient at the heart of its priorities. Our ambition is to make it easier for Moroccan patients to access the most innovative therapeutic treatments”, sums up Sanaa Sayagh. “Our challenge is to make the Roche Group’s innovations not only available but accessible to the Moroccan patients who need them. Roche is a committed player specialising in innovative products where medical needs are not yet met. What we offer is not simply therapeutic solutions but genuine patient care. There are many innovations to come in oncology, haemophilia and neuroscience. I encourage young people who want to go into the healthcare sector. There are many challenges to take on in Morocco, many things to develop and to think through, particularly in terms of accessibility and infrastructure. That said, it takes a lot of perseverance!”
Her motto: “You do nothing alone; it is the team and collective strength that do everything”. Throughout her career, Sanaa has been greatly inspired by her various managers. Something she takes very much to heart today, as someone who firmly believes in group dynamics, the spirit of collaboration and perseverance.