Roche's new CEO commits to p-med

As of Swiss drug major Roche's March 4 annual general meeting, Severin Schwan has succeeded Franz Humer as chief executive of the group. In his first speech in the post, Mr Schwan said that "Roche's strategy is unique and we must use it as a basis for successfully advancing the company over the next years."

The new CEO continued: "it is an unfortunate fact that medicines are currently not as effective as they could be in an average of around 50% of patients, and in certain indications the success rate is even lower. This is why Roche is systematically pursuing personalized medicine - it is an approach that is capable of increasing the safety, efficacy and cost-efficiency of treatment. And there is no company in the world in a better position to make this approach [a] reality."