As one of the largest investors in research and development, Roche Diagnostics revealed plans to tackle tuberculosis (TB) which remains a pressing issue for the Asian region. 

The diagnostic giant also recently joined forces with the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) to cooperate on global open innovation research projects in the field of medical devices and digital healthcare.

Against this backdrop, Korea Biomedical Review sat down with Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific Head Lance Little to find out more about upcoming plans facing the APAC region and how the region’s diversity can be leveraged for developing more effective diagnostic solutions.

“We’re looking forward to creating new synergies by leveraging Roche’s global healthcare market expertise together with the innovation and technological advancements in Korea,” Little remarked. 

Little first joined Roche in 1995 in a technical support role in the New Zealand organization and then transitioned through commercial and general management roles until he assumed the APAC head position in 2012 for Roche Diagnostics. The region encompasses all affiliates in Greater China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, India, Pakistan, Australia, and New Zealand, which contributes 23 percent to Roche’s global business.

A key aspect of the job that excites him is advocating for the value that diagnostics brings to the healthcare ecosystem to healthcare industry leaders and decision-makers, he said. 

An alarming statistic that he often emphasizes to leaders is that diagnostics informs 60 percent of healthcare decisions but is only allocated 2 percent of the average healthcare expenditures.

Access to healthcare as a fundamental global conversation

“It’s 2023 and yet 47 percent of the world still has little to no access to diagnostics,” Little said.

Even with Korea’s advanced healthcare system, challenges still exist to ensure a sustainable health system considering the aging population, the global rise in disease burdens, as well as future pandemics. 

He also referred to Australia’s commitment to eradicating cervical cancer by 2035. Australia's National Cervical Cancer Screening Program includes a self-sampling option which ensures life-saving cervical screening tests are accessible to women in geographically remote parts of the country.

“Together, access and health system sustainability, continue to be a priority for the healthcare industry, and for us at Roche as well,” he noted.

The managing director also added that the effective use of digital technologies has the potential to improve the overall performance of health systems and reduce inefficiencies.

He cited data showing that OECD health systems waste $1.3 trillion due to inefficiencies in the system, which accounts for 20 percent of the total healthcare expenditure.

Interoperability of data in an environment of varying health systems and data privacy laws is another issue, he said. 

A recent stakeholder survey conducted by Roche also showed that 96 percent of healthcare professionals believe digitalization will bring system improvements while 61 percent of informed patients are comfortable sharing health data.

Zoning in on Korea, he applauded the nation’s revision of the Personal Information Protection Act, Information Network Act, and Credit Information Act in 2020 which facilitated the usage of data securely and safely saying, “This is a step in the right direction for the utilization of health data on a national level to enhance policy decisions.”

Effective partnerships and regulatory agility to fulfill APAC’s diagnostic needs

However, he expressed that the economic, cultural, and political diversity of the APAC region can sometimes create hurdles in accessing life-saving diagnostics. In this regard, the private and public sectors must share responsibility and work together to build resilient and sustainable healthcare systems.

“The needs of developing countries tend to be focused on addressing infrastructure and resource challenges while the priority for developed countries is a sustainable and efficient health delivery system,” Little noted. “By collaborating with healthcare stakeholders, we will continue to develop tailored solutions that help overcome the barriers and ensure rapid, broad, and sustainable access to our diagnostic solutions.”

The APAC leader also brought up the importance of regulatory agility to increase the speed and access to much-needed medical devices and diagnostics for patients.

While it is important to push boundaries to redefine what is possible, strict regulations and robust processes are essential to safeguard individuals. 

Accordingly, he called for simplifying and streamlining administrative processes for solutions that already have established sufficient clinical evidence through international and academia-industry cooperation.

He mentioned that more regulators in the APAC region are considering the acceptance of overseas clinical evaluation, recognizing the Medical Device Single Audit Programme (MDSAP) in the International Medical Device Regulators Forum (IMDRF).

“Having abridged reviews or fast-track registration with reference country approvals could increase efficiencies in our diverse systems,” he suggested.

Roche’s strategy to keep up with changing industry demands

Shifting the focus to the company’s innovation strategies, he shared that Roche is consistently making investments to positively impact patients’ lives. 

In 2022, Roche Diagnostics introduced a new digital PCR system and next-generation sequencing automation system called Digital LightCycler and AVENIO Edge System respectively.

“Digital healthcare also represents a wealth of untapped potential and our NAVIFY Algorithm Suite is one example, which can facilitate clinical decision-making for effective healthcare delivery at scale.”

He went on to say that strengthening partnerships, with TIB MOLBIOL and GenMark Diagnostics is also essential to drive continuous innovations and solutions needed in current health systems.

Roche also stands committed to eradicating TB in the Asian region as it remains the highest killer from a single pathogen, even surpassing HIV. In particular, Korea holds the highest TB incidence rate and the third highest mortality rate among OECD countries, but on the bright side, noted that the total number of TB patients is declining by approximately 7 percent annually.

In this regard, he mentioned that Roche recently expanded its Global Access Programme (GAP) to include TB and has also been the largest healthcare R&D investor for several years as the company believes innovation is key to developing new mechanisms to tackle rising disease burdens.

“We are committed to expanding the menu of tests that will benefit elimination programs globally and plan to introduce an additional TB solution called the cobas MAI test soon in Korea as the health technology assessment was completed in 2022,” Little said.

There have also been extensive National TB Eradication programs by government bodies and NGOs in Korea after the 2018 UN High-Level Meeting but the elimination progress was disrupted by Covid-19.

Factoring in the patient-centric approach into Roche’s future goals

“I genuinely believe that patient engagement will be a key driver for the future of healthcare worldwide,” remarked Little. “While access to healthcare provides a measure of the supply of healthcare resources and receives the bulk of stakeholder attention, patient engagement measures the demand for healthcare resources, and is equally important and deserving of government attention.”

Still, this is easier said than done, he admitted.

According to a recent whitepaper from Roche concerning the patient-centric approach in the Asian Pacific region, changing patient behavior is tied to unique experiences, cultures, beliefs, and interactions with healthcare.

Patient engagement becomes crucial for the evolution of healthcare as it creates the demand for services within the health system before the onset of serious illnesses, thus lowering the long-term cost of healthcare, and alleviating the associated economic burden in society, he explained.

“Korea turned into an aged society in 2017 and expects to become a super-aged society by late 2024 with the elderly accounting for over 20 percent of the population,” he stated. “Early diagnosis and effective patient engagement are key to better manage the onset of diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer, which might not have obvious early symptoms.”

Overall, improving patient outcomes and engagement is a fundamental strategy for us to develop solutions and mechanisms to help create healthier populations at scale in the future, he said.