Isabel Mestres, CEO of City Cancer Challenge (C/Can), shared on LinkedIn:
“Last week, Teresa Harris Graham CEO of Roche Pharma, visited one of C/Can’s cities!
For me, that meant much more than showing her the progress made in Tbilisi, Georgia. It meant creating a direct line between local reality and global decision-making.
Teresa heard directly from patients, clinicians, policymakers, hospital leaders, and researchers, not only about what they have achieved, but also about the challenges they still face.
That matters deeply.
Too often, global leaders hear about access through reports, presentations and data. Being in a city means hearing what access really requires: stronger systems, better coordination, sustainable financing, local leadership and the ability to turn innovation into care that actually reaches patients.
For local stakeholders, it is also a rare opportunity to influence one of the world’s leading healthcare companies directly, to explain what works, what does not, and what companies can do differently.
Roche has supported C/Can since the beginning, and we are deeply grateful for that long-term commitment. But partnership is not only about funding. It is also about showing up, listening, and allowing what you hear to shape what comes next. Thank you, Teresa Harris Graham, Michael Oberreiter and Maka Asatiani, for making the time to be there.
My hope is that more CEOs will make these visits. Because when leaders step out of the boardroom and listen to the people transforming care on the ground, they see both the challenge and their responsibility differently.”
