Reaffirming commitment to partnerships for healthcare and R&D

DR. NIKOLAOS Tripodis, Novartis Healthcare Philippines’ new president and managing director, receives the flag from his predecessor, Thomas Weigold, who is now Novartis oncology head of Asia Pacific and South Africa.

The new head of Novartis Healthcare Philippines (NHP) vowed to build stronger working ties with government and private sector during the formal handover ceremonies themed “Partnering for Innovation and Access” at The Conservatory of the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati.

Dr. Nikolaos Tripodis, the new president and managing director of NHP, said “we will continue to partner with the Philippine government and private sector stakeholders, and build on existing collaborations aimed at enhancing Filipinos’ access to medicines and the country’s research and development capabilities.”

Tripodis’ predecessor, Thomas Weigold, will move on as Novartis oncology head of  Asia Pacific and South Africa.

Weigold thanked the Novartis Philippines team for the support during his tenure. “Without my team, I would only be sitting in the office with my ideas.” He then urged them to continue trespassing the “business as usual” mantra. “We have to do it in the highest of ethical standards.”

Before healthcare stakeholders from government and public sector, Tripodis and Weigold presented the company’s various initiatives, which include:

• The Novartis Oncology Access program that provides effective cancer treatment since 2003 to over 2,500 socially disadvantaged Filipino patients, with patient benefits amounting to P4.5 billion;

• Providing without profit 175,000 antimalaria treatment, saving an estimated 43,000 lives;

• Partnership with the PhilHealth for the Novartis Kidney Transplant Package;

• A public-private partnership on leprosy post-elimination strategy with the Department of Health.

• The Leprosy Alert Response Network and Surveillance System project, the country’s first mobile phone-based referral system for leprosy, with the DOH and the Department of Science and Technology, Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development and Metahelix;

• The annual Local BioCamp with the DOST, giving young, promising Filipino scientists and researchers the opportunity to participate in the prestigious International BioCamp;

• Clinical trials to develop new medicines in the therapeutic areas of cardiovascular, respiratory, transplantation and ophthalmology through the Novartis International Clinical Research Organization;

• Partnerships with the St. Luke’s Medical Center, National Kidney Transplant Institute and Philippine Heart Center to establish centers of excellence for clinical research.

Prior to his posting in the country, Tripodis was based in Basel, Switzerland, as director of corporate strategy, where he led among others the Go Africa initiative and the upgrading of the Novartis Group Social Business. He was involved in the annual corporate strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions prioritization and, more recently, development of Novartis’ long-term strategic outlook.