Roche Pharma China Appoints New Head for Anti-Infectives Franchise and Highlights Xofluza as Key Growth Product

According to "Pharmaceutical Academic Plus," Roche announced that Xia Xiaoqin will join the anti-infective team as the therapeutic area lead, effective January 2, 2024, reporting directly to Chen Yijuan, Head of Special Medicines at Roche Pharma China's Customer Interaction Business Model.

Hu Zian and Pan Wen from the Xofluza Marketing Team, and Zhao Xiong from the Sales Team will report directly to Xia Xiaoqin.

The announcement introduced that Xia Xiaoqin graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Before joining Roche, Xia Xiaoqin served as the National Key Account Sales Head of Organon's Retail Division, leading the team to establish strategic cooperation with national retail clients and promoting the construction of a retail ecosystem. Prior to this, Xia Xiaoqin had worked at Procter & Gamble (China) for over a decade, successively holding positions such as Account Manager, Marketing Planning and Deputy Marketing Director, and National Sales Director, accumulating extensive industry experience.

The Next "Blockbuster Product"

As the flu season arrives with the advent of autumn and winter, baloxavir marboxil tablets (brand name "Xofluza") have become the new "popular" flu medication following oseltamivir.

Xofluza was approved for marketing by the National Medical Products Administration in April 2021. In December 2022, China's "Emergency Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Adult Influenza (2022 Edition)" was released, newly recommending novel anti-influenza virus drugs, including Baloxavir Marboxil Tablets.

Compared with oseltamivir, which requires continuous administration for 5 days, baloxavir marboxil has obvious advantages: only one dose is needed for the entire course of treatment. In addition, baloxavir marboxil can also treat virus strains resistant to oseltamivir and avian influenza virus strains.

Thanks to its excellent product features, Xofluza has been favored by more patients and is gradually becoming a key product for Roche. At this year's sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE), Roche Pharma China held a press conference themed "Speeding to the Future, Blessing Thousands of Families" at its booth. During the event, the company announced it would launch in-depth collaborations with seven leading partners in China’s healthcare and new retail sectors, including Meituan Medicine and Dingdang Fast Medicine.

Xia Xiaoqin, newly appointed this time, has many years of experience in the retail sector, aligning with Roche's development goals.

Frequent personnel changes

Notably, Roche has recently undergone several personnel changes.

On July 31, Chen Shaofeng stepped down as the head of Roche Pharma China's customer interaction business model for specialty drugs (ophthalmology, neuroscience, anti-infectives, and immunology). Starting from August 31, he will serve as the global integrated strategy lead for Xofluza at Roche headquarters.ChenYiJuanWill assume the position of Head of Special Medicines, reporting directly to Bian Xin, President of Roche China.

On August 21, Xu Lanlan officially joined Roche Pharma China, taking on the role of Head of the newly established Ophthalmology Therapeutic Area.

Subsequently, Roche made further adjustments at the end of August. The original Medical Science Team for the infectious disease, neuroscience, and rare disease therapeutic areas will be split into two divisions: the Neuroscience and Rare Disease Therapeutic Area, and the Respiratory and Infectious Disease Therapeutic Area. Effective September 1, Zhou Wei will serve as the Head of Medical Affairs for the Neuroscience and Rare Disease Therapeutic Area, while Pang Zhiqian will serve as the Head of Medical Affairs for the Respiratory and Infectious Disease Therapeutic Area.

On September 4, Lisha Luo will join Roche Pharma China as the Head of Medical Affairs for the Ophthalmology Therapeutic Area; Jing Zhang, the former Head of Medical Affairs for the Ophthalmology Therapeutic Area, will step down on September 30 to pursue external development opportunities.