Roche: Thinking about tomorrow
125 years of recognising life as the most precious gift
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Roche is a Swiss family-owned healthcare company. Since its founding 125 year ago, and over five generations of the family, Roche has always worked with the aim of making the world better. Health and sustainability have always gone hand-in-hand.
To celebrate the company’s 125th anniversary this year, Roche has published a three-volume history book, Roche in the World 1896-2021: A Global History. It is not only a celebration of the company’s achievements in health, but also its long history as a global force for good across five continents, including here in Asia. Readers will be able to chart the course of a unique company, share each milestone reached, celebrate successes but also learn from the many failures along the way. Each has made Roche stronger and better at what we do.
This year is also the 50th anniversary of Roche’s world-class pharmaceutical division, and 33 years of Roche Diagnostics Hong Kong. To share this special occasion with the people of Hong Kong, Roche has donated copies of Roche in the World 1896-2021: A Global History to public libraries in Hong Kong. The donation was recognised at an event on the 8th Nov 2021 attended by guests from government and academia, as well as representatives from various industries.
Rolf Frei, Swiss Consul General in Hong Kong, had this to say: “I would like to congratulate Roche for its 125th anniversary globally and 50 years of its operation in Hong Kong. Roche stands for the Swiss values for its innovation strength which is part of Switzerland’s DNA. The celebration together with the community helped to strengthen the Hong Kong & Switzerland relationship.”
Also in attendance was Dr. Uli Sigg, a visionary businessman, former diplomat and the largest private collector of Chinese contemporary art in the world, who spoke on his passion for and conservation of Chinese contemporary art.
Dr. Claudia Suessmuth Dyckerhoff, member of Roche’s Board of Directors, spoke of how since its founding Roche’s long-term mission had always been to leave the world better off than it was before.
“I am proud to share the 125-year history of Roche that captures not only the great medical inventions across the company’s existence but also the amazing entrepreneurial and global mindset to optimally support patients across the world,” she said.
Daniel Thurley, APAC Network Head Informatics, commented: “Thinking about tomorrow is part of Roche's history, the impact of a business should not be measured by just money but how we contribute to society. Sustainability is also not just about the environment, it is in terms of access, social responsibility, supply chain, diversity, inclusion and people development.”
Louisa Shen, General Manager of Roche Diagnostics Hong Kong, added: “Our vision is to be a strong partner for healthcare systems in Hong Kong & Macau, and works closely with stakeholders in seeking better and more sustainable solutions for both patients and healthcare systems.”
In 2020 Roche was rated the top healthcare company on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, the eleventh time it had been accorded this accolade. “At Roche, we follow the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as much as we can,” said Dr. Suessmuth Dyckerhoff.
Since its founding in 1896 the story of Roche has been shaped by science. It is through innovation, said Dr. Suessmuth Dyckerhoff, that Roche has been able to make the most contribution to improving people’s lives. It has been a journey defined not by its successes and failures, but the company’s ability to learn. “We acknowledge failure and learn from mistakes, so we can become who we want to be for the next 125 years,” she said.
Today the emphasis is as much on people as it is on numbers, or on the many scientific and technological breakthroughs that have shaped and reshaped the company over its 125 year history. Today it’s about the bigger picture — about not only what is good for our health, but also what is good for all our futures.
In 2020 Roche provided 23.4 billion diagnostic tests to millions of people around the world, and provided treatment to 28.9 million people. Around 12.2 billion CHF was spent on R&D, the most of any healthcare company — or 1.4 million CHF every hour. Roche now employs over 100,000 people across more than 100 countries, and 32 medicines developed by Roche are listed on the World Health Organization's list of essential medicines. Whilst it is a long way from where it all began 125 years ago, what drives the company remains the same.