This article has been machine translated from German.
On a gloomy Thursday in February, I met up virtually with Manfred. After some ‘introductory small talk’ we started our interview. I was very interested as I didn’t know much about Manfred.
Nice to meet you! How are you today?
Thank you! Nice to meet you too! I’m fine, but yes, it’s already Thursday, the weekend is coming soon.
How and when did you join Roche?
I joined Roche in 1996, that’s a long time ago, 29 years already! I first studied chemistry and my fellow student was my first boss here. I actually came to Roche through him and managed a mini-plant laboratory. Before I came to Roche, I worked at Bühler AG, Uzwil in the canton of St. Gallen. Bühler AG is the world’s largest grain mill manufacturer and had its own analysis department at the time, so I was the scientific employee there. Before that, I had completed my apprenticeship as a chemical laboratory technician at Sandoz before going on to study chemistry and then environmental technology at the University of Applied Sciences in Muttenz.
What does your daily work at Roche look like?
At the beginning of my career at Roche, I worked in the kilo laboratory for 5 years. I then went to Roche Pharma (Switzerland) Ltd – which is a ‘separate’ company, so not quite the same as F. Hoffmann-La Roche – and worked in various positions there. I spent the first 5 years in quality assurance. After that, I worked in the authorisation department for another 5 years. For more than 12 years now I’ve been working in Market Access, which roughly translates as ‘market access’ and is about negotiating prices for Roche medicines in Switzerland. I work with the Federal Office of Public Health and the various health insurers, a lot of it is in writing, especially with the Federal Office. Rarely do we have a meeting on site in Bern, but normally the meetings are virtual these days. Before coronavirus, the conferences were often held on site. However, I find virtual meetings helpful, especially if you already know the people and we are increasingly in direct contact with health insurance companies thanks to virtual dialogue. Today I’ve been working on a report for the FOPH, which is tormenting me laughs – so a lot of Excel with pivot tables.
What motivated you to join the AVR and how are you doing in the AVR team?
I already knew about the AVR, as I said, I’ve been with Roche for a long time. I always thought it was a good thing. Before the AVR elections, my boss approached me and asked me if I would like to be a representative for Roche Pharma (Switzerland) Ltd, as there was a vacancy. I didn’t have to think about it for long, I thought it was a great idea and at the end of the day I’ve had a lot of benefits from working for the AVR for years. I wanted to get involved with the AVR and also give something back, you can’t always just profit from it laughs. I also think the team is great, I was very well received, everyone is very open, helpful and friendly. You realise that the activities have a lot to do with experience, such as the consultations, but in the team you share your experiences with others and also get a lot of support. I haven’t accepted any counselling yet, I’m still observing how everything works. But the team is a super motivated and good bunch!
Finally, something about you as a person, what does your free time look like?
I’m just working, I don’t have any free time laughs… I like doing sport, I used to play football intensively, but unfortunately I tore my cruciate ligament a few years ago. Now I like jogging and skiing in winter. I also do strength training, which helps with the cruciate ligament rupture, as I didn’t have an operation. I go to the gym so that my muscles can compensate for the missing cruciate ligament. In summer I like hiking, I travel a lot with my wife and I like to take photos of my travels and nature. I also like reading, but that’s always such a stupid hobby laughs. I like reading Russian literature, such as Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. Family life has calmed down a bit, the children have already moved out and are now on their own two feet. I had lots of pets as a child, but none after I got married because we travelled a lot.
I would like to thank Manfred for the great and pleasant conversation and look forward to working with him in the future!
Interview conducted by Shania Börlin, Apprentice Representative Basel/Kaiseraugst