Media Release

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 16, 2014: Roche’s pharmaceuticals division announces the appointment of Ehab Yousef to the newly created role of Sub-Region Head Middle East, overseeing the market activities in Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen. Effective from 1stfocused market growth in this region. 

Ehab Yousef will report directly to Peter Hug, Regional Head of Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA), and will lead the business for Roche’s main therapeutic areas in the region: Oncology, Virology, Inflammation and Metabolic Disorders. Roche is currently the market leader in providing innovative solutions across these therapies fulfilling unmet medical needs across a range of diseases like cancer, hepatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, anemia and transplantation.

Commenting on the new responsibility, Yousef said, “The Middle East market has a huge potential for growth with increasing demand for innovative medicines. As a research-focused healthcare company we are striving to improve people’s health and I look at this as a very exciting time for the company.” 

Yousef joined Roche’s pharmaceutical division in 2011 as the General Manager of RocheEgypt. He brings more than 20 years of pharmaceutical business experience having held various positions of increasing responsibility in sales and marketing at global pharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly. In 2009 Yousef conducted Executive General Management program in Harvard Business School.Roche UAE has a long history. Commencing licensed operations in 1997 with only 10 employees, Roche in the UAE has grown to become a Management Centre (MC) for 15 markets including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Pakistan and Afghanistan, with almost 500 employees across the region. 

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the world’s largest biotech company, with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology and neuroscience. Roche is also the world leader in in vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, and a frontrunner in diabetes management. Roche’s personalised healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostics that enable 

May 2014, the move results from an effort by the company to drive tangible improvements in the health, quality of life and survival of patients. Founded in 1896, Roche has been making important contributions to global health for more than a century. Twenty-four medicines developed by Roche are included in the World Health Organisation Model Lists of Essential Medicines, among them life-saving antibiotics, antimalarials and chemotherapy.

In 2013 the Roche Group employed over 85,000 people worldwide, invested 8.7 billion Swiss francs in R&D and posted sales of 46.8 billion Swiss francs. Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan. For more information, please visit www.roche-middleeast.com.