This year has seen no less than five GM changes at international pharma companies’ Mexican affiliates. Pfizer, MSD, Roche, Sanofi and Gilead have all taken on new local leadership. In some cases, the appointments represent a first for affiliates that have never had female leaders while in others they coincide with strategy shifts in the LatAm region.
A Mexican National Takes Over at Pfizer
As Pfizer celebrates its 175th anniversary globally, the company has appointed a new president and general manager for Mexico, a country where Pfizer first established research labs in 1960 and went on to set up corporate offices in 2000.
Industry veteran of 23 years Juan Luis Morell comes to the position this month after leading various businesses and therapeutic areas within the company across more than a decade. Unlike many affiliate GMs, Morell has not hopped across the globe to multiple countries. As a Mexican national whose previous roles at Pfizer were all based in the country, he does however boast a deep understanding of the local healthcare system and market and is in fact the first Mexican to lead the affiliate in more than 20 years.
Among Morell’s most notable achievements was introducing Pfizer’s COVID-19 treatment in Mexico and the broader LatAm region and the post-pandemic business model that boosted access and availability of vaccines for countries in the region. “Pfizer Mexico is a benchmark of the pharmaceutical industry in the country, with a solid and diversified presence in different therapeutic areas,” said Morell.
First Local Female Leader at MSD
MSD is another company with a long history in the country. With 90+ years in Mexico, MSD has made a commitment to local clinical research, sponsoring a large number of clinical studies in the country.
At the beginning of the year, Jennifer Cox, an American national with a distinguished 15-year track record at MSD, took the reins of the firm’s Mexican affiliate, becoming its first female VP and managing director. Cox has held both local and global leadership positions across areas such as oncology, hospital intensive care and vaccines. Previously she managed the company’s Vietnam affiliate and served as director of its Global Vaccine Strategy. During the pandemic, she led the global COVID-19 Coordination Committee.
Cox will be tasked with strengthening and enhancing the Mexican footprint in the key areas of oncology and vaccines, while maintaining investment in local clinical research.
And Another First at Roche
Swiss giant Roche has also named a new leader in Mexico, where it has stepped up investments in clinical research with MXN 300 million last year and 64 active clinical trials in the country in areas such as oncology and neurosciences, as well as its first-ever Phase I clinical trial in Mexico.
Monica Palomanes became General Manager of Roche Mexico in May, also the first woman to hold the position at the Mexican affiliate. Abiochemist by profession, Palomanes has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and has been with Roche since 2014. With strong credentials in areas such as clinical research, public affairs, business development and market access, Palomanes comes to Mexico from Spain where she was Roche’s portfolio strategy director.
Roche said Palomanes would be committed to leveraging the country’s strong research and development capabilities to further foster clinical research there while nurturing local talent. “Under her leadership Roche Mexico will be able to accelerate the delivery of innovative therapies and enter the next phase of innovation and affiliate growth,” the company said in an announcement.
Sanofi Shifts Towards Unifying LatAm
In its push for modernization in Latin America and the rest of the world, and coinciding with the 95th anniversary of the French pharma’s presence in Mexico, Sanofi has chosen a new leader. Emily Morris, former GM and head of US Oncology, is the new general manager of Sanofi LatAm and Mexico and general manager of Farma LatAm.
For Sanofi, this is a move to unify the business in Latin American with Mexico as the anchor country, opening opportunities to consolidate the company’s presence in a region where it has a robust production infrastructure. Sanofi possesses two industrial sites in Mexico, which manufacture 280 products for patients in Mexico and throughout the broader LatAm region.
Yet Sanofi does not see Mexico as separated from other LatAm markets. According to the firm, “success in LATAM also depends on the importance of other key markets such as Argentina, Colombia and Chile, among many others in the region.”
With over 15 years in the industry, Morris has held a wide variety of leadership roles with a marked focus on oncology at Genzyme, EMD Serono and Roche.
LatAm Restructuring at Gilead
To lead its Mexico affiliate, HIV trailblazer Gilead has recruited someone who knows the market well, former AbbVie Mexico GM Arturo de la Rosa. With over 20 years in the industry, de la Rosa is also well versed in other LatAm markets, having been general manager for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay at Eli Lilly.
While Gilead has a significant footprint in Mexico, with clinical trials underway in the country and plans to get its first cancer therapy approved by the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (COFEPRIS), the appointment of de la Rosa earlier this year came at a time when the American biotech appears to be reorganizing its LatAm structure and eliminating all of the GM positions there except in Mexico and Brazil.
