Roche Malaysia: Swiss Roots, China-Born Chief Catering to Local Pharma

Lance Duan has been the General Manager of Roche Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the pharmaceutical division of Roche since July 2017.

Prior to his posting, Lance, a Chinese national was based in Roche China since 2011 where he served in various roles including Head of West Region and Head of Business Unit.

“Roche is one of the leading innovative healthcare companies in the world with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology and diseases of the central nervous system,” says Lance.

“Roche is also the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, and a frontrunner in diabetes management. Roche Malaysia is an integral part of the other Roche divisions that include Roche Diagnostics and Roche Asia Pacific Shared Service Centre, but we aim to do more here of course,” he adds.

Roche’s presence in Malaysia began in the 1950s when the sales and distribution of its products were handled by a distributor, namely DKSH (M) Sdn Bhd. Roche Singapore and Malaysia was established in 1962 as a single company. A very small sales team was set up under DKSH’s supervision. On 11 May 1983, Roche (Pharmaceuticals) Sdn. Bhd. changed its name to Roche (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

The company has its roots in Basel, Switzerland. But the operations in Malaysia is very much an independent one.

“In 1988, Roche Headquarters in Basel, Switzerland separated the operations of Malaysia from Singapore and became an independent subsidiary reporting directly to the Head Office,” Lance explains.

“Today, Roche Malaysia is exclusively dedicated to the pharmaceutical business and has since grown into one of the leading healthcare companies in Malaysia. The Roche Operations in Malaysia are separated into two legal entities – Roche (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Roche Diagnostics (M) Sdn Bhd,” he adds.

Lance’s 20-year career has been an interesting one. His ability to build and lead a regional team and deliver results saw him moving up to become part of the Roche China's Pharmaceutical Leadership team.

Since joining Roche Malaysia, Lance has been actively involved in engagement with stakeholders via the European Asean Business Association and Phama Industry Association.

Lance holds a Masters in Business Administration from China Europe International Business School and a Bachelor's degree in Clinical Medicine from China Medical University.

Watch the full interview with Lance: