PETALING JAYA: As healthcare systems across Asia grapple with rising costs and growing demand for treatment, biosimilars are increasingly emerging as a key solution to improve access to medicines while maintaining financial sustainability.
For global pharmaceutical company Sandoz, expanding access to affordable medicines is central to its mission, particularly through generics and biosimilars that can help healthcare systems deliver quality treatment to more patients.
Industry leaders say that while innovation continues to transform healthcare, ensuring these advances translate into real patient impact requires strong collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem.
According to Sandoz president of Asian cluster Boon Huey Ee, who brings more than 25 years of experience across country, regional and global roles in the healthcare sector, innovation must ultimately serve both access and sustainability to create meaningful impact.
“I’ve seen first hand how innovation must serve both sustainability and access to achieve their desired impact,” she said.
Awareness and acceptance of biosimilars have been steadily growing in Malaysia and across the region, with more stakeholders recognising their potential to support healthcare systems under pressure.
Biosimilars, highly similar versions of original biologic medicines, offer comparable clinical outcomes while helping to manage treatment costs.
Their adoption can enable patients to access therapies earlier while allowing healthcare providers to stretch limited budgets further. When biosimilars are adopted effectively, the impact can be meaningful for both patients and healthcare systems,” Boon Huey said.
“They can enable earlier access to treatment for patients who may otherwise face delays, while also allowing healthcare institutions to stretch limited budgets further.”
In many cases, she noted, the cost savings generated from biosimilars can be reinvested into other areas of healthcare, ultimately benefiting a wider group of patients.
Boon Huey’s views are echoed by fellow Sandoz leader Christine Yan, who highlighted that biosimilars are playing an increasingly important role in strengthening healthcare resilience.
Beyond affordability, biosimilars help broaden treatment options and support the sustainability of healthcare systems facing rising demand.
Together, these developments are shaping a healthcare landscape where innovation and access go hand in hand.
While medical innovation is essential, Boon Huey emphasised that successful healthcare transformation ultimately depends on people.
Having led teams across multiple international markets, she believes that strategy alone is not enough to drive meaningful change.
“Strategy alone does not drive transformation people do,” she said.
Drawing from her global experience, she focuses on three key priorities: clarity of purpose, empowered teams and strong partnerships across the healthcare ecosystem.
Healthcare transformation often involves multiple stakeholders, from regulators and hospitals to policymakers and clinicians.
As such, building internal alignment within organisations and external alignment with partners is critical to ensuring progress.
“My role is to create alignment internally within teams and externally with stakeholders so that we move forward together,” she said.
Boon Huey also believes that fostering diversity, equity and inclusion within organisations is essential to driving innovation in complex sectors such as healthcare.
“I’ve always felt that people do their best work when they feel comfortable being themselves,” she said.
Creating an environment where employees feel safe to share ideas, including perspectives that challenge conventional thinking, can lead to stronger discussions and more effective solutions.
“In healthcare, the challenges are complex, so you really need different perspectives around the table,” she added.
“When people feel heard and respected, conversations become more open and honest, and that’s often where the best ideas come from.”
Looking ahead, Boon Huey sees significant opportunities for biosimilars and generics to play a larger role in Malaysia and across Asia.
Healthcare systems worldwide are facing mounting pressure to deliver more with limited resources, creating growing demand for cost-effective treatment options.
For companies like Sandoz, this presents both an opportunity and a responsibility to help expand access to medicines.
“Looking ahead, I see a real opportunity for Sandoz in Malaysia and across Asia to continue expanding access to medicines, particularly through generics and biosimilars,” she said.
The mission is one that strongly resonates across her teams.
“There is a strong shared understanding of why access matters, and that commitment really drives how we approach our work,” she said.
“As a team, we’re focused on doing our part to help bring more treatment options to patients across the region.”
The Sun Malaysia
