Doria Oughlis, Lilly’s GM for North West Africa, outlines the company’s historic presence in Algeria, current priorities and Lilly’s overarching contribution to the health of the region.   Could you please start by describing Lilly’s legacy in Algeria to date? Lilly’s presence in Algeria actually long predates the setting up of a local affiliate and representative office in 1996 as, since many years previously, we have been making our products available for use in the public health sector. Prior to having any employees on the ground, we had established longstanding contracts with the government for supply of medicines to the public hospital segment; so Algerian physicians have been familiar with the quality of our products for quite some time. It’s important not to underestimate Lilly’s incredible impact on public health around the world during the company’s 140 years of dedication to the development of innovative and life-changing, breakthrough medicine. We were, for example, the first company to manufacture insulin back in 1923, prior to which there had been no real treatment for diabetes. We are also proud to have been one of the first drug developers to pioneer the use of antibiotics. What remains unchanged, however, is our overarching mission to improve the lives of patients all around the world and to render our therapies as accessible as possible.   So what does the local portfolio look like today? Which are the key areas of focus? Lilly enjoys a large and broad portfolio spanning a wide range of therapeutic areas, but undoubtedly, one of our primary target areas in the Algerian marketplace is diabetes. our key products in this category are Insulins. which having been the first analogue insulin worldwide. However, our contribution stretches far beyond just offering up products in diabetes, and we have simultaneously rolled out both digital and physical support and educational tools to help Algerian patients and their families manage the condition and live as normal a life as possible. Lilly strives to be much more than just a purveyor of medicines and is dedicated towards both supporting the patient care pathway and rendering our therapies as patient-centric as possible. To this effect, we have managed to set up a public-private partnership (PPP) directly with the Algerian ministry of health with a view to training up healthcare professionals and in facilitating diabetes management within the public health apparatus. Our second big target area is oncology given Lilly’s strong pipeline in this field. As a company, we have been expanding the scope of our offering from areas like bronchial cancer to also deliver cutting-edge therapies fornew cancer types with significant medical need. We have been collaborating closely both with the oncology society and respective health authorities to ensure that Algerian patients gain access to these innovative treatments as soon possible. Our priority has been very much to scope in on those areas where there are considerable unmet needs and where we can provide a holistic package whereby we provide an innovative medicine that really delivers substantial clinical and societal added value, and also where we can truly support and optimize the management of daily life conditions. Our third area of local focus is countering the onset of osteoporosis. Here we have a product in bone fracture that meets significant medical needs. We have been collaborating very closely with the authorities, HCP and particularly the PCH, to ensure that this drug is available in the public hospitals throughout the country.   In the light of Algeria’s rapid epidemiological transition towards non-communicative, lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and cancer, your portfolio would appear very well aligned to meet the needs of the moment. Do you agree with this assessment?

It is absolutely no coincidence that we have been working to shift the local offering away from a focus on some of our more conventional treatments like antibiotics into newly emerging therapeutic areas such as autoimmune disease