CEOInterviews.AIStrategy& Insider Podcast - Episode 3 with Teresa Graham

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Tomas Alba0:02

Strategy and insider exploring future trends and their impacts. Welcome to the third episode of our Strategy and Inside podcast, where we discuss future trends in healthcare and pharma. My name is Tomas Alba, partner at Strategy&. After speaking with a clinician and an academic, I'm honored to be joined by Teresa Graham, Head of Global Product Strategy at Roche Pharma, who has held leadership roles at Genentech and Roche since 2005. Teresa, a warm welcome.

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Teresa Graham2:11

Thank you for having me. This is an important conversation. What drives me personally is that my life has been touched by serious diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's. I'm committed to making sure other families have a different journey than my own.

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Tomas Alba3:10

Thanks for sharing. So what does the Head of Global Product Strategy do?

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Teresa Graham3:13

Global Product Strategy is part of Roche's pharma arm. We set overall global strategy for our portfolio across therapeutic areas, work with early research and development to introduce therapies into the clinic and marketplace. We span the entire lifecycle, acting as the neural net that keeps Roche together, bridging different nodes to turn data into actionable information for patients.

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Tomas Alba4:35

That neural network picture is great. You've relocated from the Bay Area to Basel. How does it feel?

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Teresa Graham4:44

I've made every basic mistake a new Basel resident makes. Note to newcomers: weigh your fruit at the grocery store! I love the people and pace of life here. My husband and I are excited for this next chapter.

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Tomas Alba5:59

Our Future of Health survey found 96% of biopharma executives agree health will be people-driven, personalized, digital, and integrated. What's your perspective?

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Teresa Graham6:51

I agree but might challenge the order – digital (the marriage of technology and data) must be foundational. In oncology, 96% of clinical data is untapped; we only use 4% from trials. That raw data could accelerate drug development, enable faster success and failure, and improve diagnosis and treatment. For rare cancers, we're talking about thousands of data lines. We need to collect data differently and use AI to make it actionable. Then we can move care into patients' hands for daily monitoring.

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Tomas Alba10:00

Absolutely. I recently saw an Indian example, Karma Healthcare, using end-to-end telemedicine in rural areas. Leapfrog innovation is happening globally.

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Teresa Graham10:56

Roche's global footprint lets us see that innovation firsthand and share it across affiliates.

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Tomas Alba11:20

Roche is committed to personalized healthcare. What's the big promise? Will we see one pill per person?

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Teresa Graham11:43

We believe meaningful data at scale will dramatically increase understanding of disease biology and enable more targeted, cost-efficient development. It may not be one pill – gene therapy or combinations targeting specific mutations. The challenge is most patients have no actionable mutation. We need to use data prospectively to identify and target those genes cost-effectively.

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Tomas Alba13:16

That takes stamina. It's not overnight for a large company.

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Teresa Graham13:29

Creating moments of clarity across multiple business lines is exciting. We've had to break down silos and think differently about how we engage with an outside world that isn't always ready.

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Tomas Alba14:00

Will we see a shift from illness curing to health-preserving therapies?

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Teresa Graham14:42

The need for cures remains acute – less than 5% of 7,000 rare diseases have therapies, nearly 10 million die from cancer yearly. But we want to move from treating to curing to preventing. Roche's diagnostics investments and digital systems are key to progressing along that continuum.

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Tomas Alba16:32

Understanding why people stay healthy, get sick, and recover will enable better diagnosis and prevention earlier.

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Teresa Graham16:59

That requires interconnected electronic health systems, which raises patient privacy issues. We sit between patients and physicians in a privileged position. We owe the space the highest level of integrity – that's been Roche's DNA forever.

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Tomas Alba19:02

A German survey showed over 70% willing to share data for science; even more if seriously ill. Data privacy is important but also a good of the healthy.

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Teresa Graham19:39

It's exciting. Roche has been around over 100 years, and our work today sets us up for the next 100. We're at a sea change – rapid advances in biology, technology, society, and finance mean we must fundamentally change how we deliver to patients. Our acquisitions uniquely position us to connect the dots from target to profoundly different patient lives. I get up jazzed to go to work every day.

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Tomas Alba21:08

You're now competing with tech players like Amazon and Cerner. Pharma sees tech ahead of the curve. What's your perspective?

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Teresa Graham22:16

We should be cautious. Google, Amazon, IBM are great at digitizing and analyzing data – that enables algorithmic solutions. But drug development is as much art as science. They lack deep medical knowledge of bringing therapy into clinical practice. However, partnerships can combine strengths. The valuable expertise they'd need to build is not easy to learn. I appreciate what they do and believe we will be part of that future.

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Tomas Alba23:41

Pharma has market access and trust. But tech has rapid cycle innovation. What would you borrow from them?

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Teresa Graham24:40

Their culture of rapid iteration, flexible teams singularly focused on solving problems, and a culture that isn't afraid to fail fast are important lessons. At Roche and Genentech we've been transforming to accelerate decisions and iterate responsibly. Combining that innovative spirit with partnerships is where the magic happens.

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Tomas Alba26:33

The winning players will combine traditional and tech-driven worlds. Where is system preparedness for this change?

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Teresa Graham27:29

Healthcare systems were designed to treat sick people, often for short periods. Now we need to identify disease earlier and keep patients alive for years with very different care. Every government must think differently about health records, telehealth, and AI to help physicians. An oncologist would need 28 hours a day to read new information. AI can streamline decisions. It's critical to take full advantage of existing data.

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Tomas Alba30:55

A UK study found over 100 million health-related Google searches in a year due to unavailability of doctors.

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Teresa Graham31:43

Millennials go to the internet first for health info. Psychiatric diseases are the top search. Misinformation is dangerous. Those in industry need to spend time in clinics understanding the real challenges physicians and patients face.

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Tomas Alba33:09

We concluded that regulations and standards can only progress if the industry converges. Would you agree roundtables are needed?

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Teresa Graham34:18

100%. The solution requires different conversations and partnerships that put the patient at the center. We already have many – the Access Accelerated program with 22 pharma companies, World Bank, UICC; pandemic flu preparedness with WHO and manufacturers. It requires everyone to put aside something to come to the table. If we can't figure it out, someone else will, and we won't like the outcome.

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Tomas Alba35:47

If we're not quick enough with ethical standards, others will move ahead.

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Teresa Graham36:28

The most interesting thing is seeing how we work differently with governments to systemically change healthcare ecosystems. We have pilots in places like Croatia, from diagnostics to payment. Those models will help patients and generate data for other countries. I'm excited to see more of these partnerships.

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Tomas Alba38:03

Croatia is not a prominent market, but such countries are often more open to piloting new models. You mentioned care-for-data in emerging markets.

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Teresa Graham38:55

Those countries have newer tech infrastructure, younger populations, and governments not burdened by decades-old systems. Our global scale lets us tailor solutions to local culture. It's important to honor those environments.

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Tomas Alba40:48

Summing up: you've been open about what drives you, Roche's emphasis on data, medical knowledge, and partnerships. Any last statement?

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Teresa Graham41:40

The time is now, speed is of the essence. What were 10-year plans a few years ago are now 18-month plans. We need a different approach to keep up with technology. If we combine that with our commitment to science and healthcare system knowledge, we have an exciting opportunity to be transformative. I'm looking forward to the future.

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Tomas Alba42:28

Thank you, Teresa. I couldn't agree more. The time is now. Thanks for listening. Our next episode features a tech executive. Have a great day.