Ms. Poh Hwee Tee (Country President, Novartis) will serve as President, while Mr. Vinod Narayanan (Country President, AstraZeneca) and Ms. Erika Pagani (Country Manager, Pfizer) will take over as Vice Presidents of SAPI.
The Singapore Pharmaceutical Industries Association (SAPI) has announced that Ms. Poh Hwee Tee (National President, Singapore and Emerging Markets Asia, Novartis) will be the association’s new President, effective immediately. She replaces the outgoing President, Mr. Guillermo Frydman (Johnson & Johnson), who has played a leading role in the association for the past two years.
In addition, Mr. Vinod Narayanan (Country President, AstraZeneca) and Ms. Erika Pagani (Country Manager, Pfizer) will take over as Vice Presidents of SAPI.
As President of SAPI, Ms. Poh will represent SAPI on all matters relating to the association with a focus on promoting greater collaboration with policy makers, healthcare providers, patient groups and all other relevant stakeholders to improve access to innovative medicines and vaccines.
Founded in 1966, SAPI currently has 41 members, including 33 global biopharmaceutical companies in Singapore, employing nearly 10,000 people in the country. The manufacturing output of pharmaceuticals and biologics in 2021 amounted to $17.5 billion, accounting for nearly 5% of Singapore’s manufacturing activity.
Expressing the note of welcome, SAPI’s Executive Director, Christina Teo, said, “Hwee Tee will continue to strengthen SAPI’s strategic advocacy efforts with key stakeholders and improve access to innovative medicines and vaccines in Singapore as that we are working to advance Singapore’s position as a global biopharmaceutical hub and support the country in achieving its Healthier SG goals.”
Ms. Poh previously served as vice president of the association in 2021 and chaired SAPI’s research and development committee since July 2020.
Mr. Narayanan has two decades of experience across the United States, including participating in successful cancer treatment access negotiations in Malaysia and Singapore.
Ms. Pagani has worked across the company and gained deep expertise in the vaccines portfolio while holding several leadership positions at Pfizer in the United States and Latin America. She has served on SAPI’s Board of Directors since January 2021 and was appointed Chair of SAPI’s Public Policy Committee in April 2022.
