“Women’s health must be a shared goal for us all”
Caring for every woman: Roche aspires to provide every woman with personalised healthcare — tailored not just to their clinical characteristics, but also to their personal preferences and priorities.
Roche is committed to women’s health at every stage of her life. We aspire to provide every woman with personalised healthcare — tailored not just to their clinical characteristics, but also to their personal preferences and priorities. These factors are front of mind when delivering the health treatments that any woman needs. We at Roche are well-positioned to help lead a global transformation in Women’s Health. Beyond our expertise across diagnostics and pharmaceuticals we also take an integrated approach to health care thanks to our many partnerships. Women’s Health must be a shared goal for us all.
is a senior member of the Roche leadership team in Ireland. Julie has over 20 years of experience working in clinical diagnostics, both in Ireland and Internationally. During her time at Roche, Julie has been involved in the introduction of novel high medical value diagnostics solutions into the healthcare systems both in Ireland and Northern Ireland. This has included specialised areas such as cancer genomics, virology, histopathology, blood screening and cervical screening. During the pandemic, Julie led the Roche programme to support the healthcare systems across Ireland in scaling the access to COVID-19 PCR testing.
Roche has been at the forefront in the development of screening and diagnostic assays for female related cancers over the past 20 years.
During the pandemic, we’ve seen our healthcare system in Ireland navigate some of the most challenging situations ever experienced and this without doubt has had knock on impacts across all healthcare services. However, increased awareness and use of diagnostic tests has helped transform the healthcare landscape.
Now is an exciting time for diagnostics alongside technical and digital innovation. We’re starting to identify women at high risk of developing cancer faster and helping to ensure access to the right treatment earlier.
Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers today, thanks to vaccination, screening and early treatment. Yet, it remains a leading cause of death in women worldwide, with one woman succumbing to this disease every 2 minutes.
Unlike the majority of cancers, the main cause of cervical cancer is well known with almost all cases, caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which infects most men and women at some point in their lives. Elimination of cervical cancer will only come from a comprehensive strategy of vaccination, advanced screening, diagnostics, and the early treatment of cancer.
A new era of innovative technologies is transforming cervical cancer screening strategies, paving the way for improved diagnostic and early intervention solutions, accelerating the move towards personalised healthcare.
In March 2020, Cervical Check introduced HPV screening as the primary test into the Irish screening programme. The rollout of HPV primary screening was initially hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic when screening services were suspended for three months, with only 37% of the eligible population being screened that year. Recently there has been greater participation in the programme, following the easing of restrictions.
HPV primary screening is a test of risk of developing cervical cancer. Novel biomarkers can be used to further assess cervical tissue samples that test positive for the presence of HPV. These biomarkers are a test for the presence of precancerous cells, triaging patients to colposcopy for further investigation.
While clinical studies are ongoing, the ability for women to self-sample may provide an opportunity for greater participation in the national screening programme. The option to self sample has yet to become available but it may allow women more flexibility as to where and when they take a sample, thus encouraging more women to participate in screening programmes.
started her career in healthcare as a registered general nurse going on to spend 10 years specialising in burns, plastics and maxillofacial nursing at a large Dublin hospital. Since then Sinéad has worked at Roche and over the last 15 years, her focus has been on the value of near-patient testing across disease areas such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes within hospital and primary care settings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sinéad worked closely with the health services, community pharmacies and private enterprise to make COVID-19 antigen tests more accessible to the public. Sinéad has a particular focus on the value that innovative diagnostic and digital health solutions can have in improving health outcomes for women in areas such as cervical screening, cardiovascular disease prevention and pregnancy care.
The decision to start a family is an exciting time; however, the journey can be a difficult one for some. Innovation in diagnostic solutions can support women in their journey by providing information to help make decisions about their fertility and pregnancy.
Approximately 1 in 6 couples may experience infertility challenges. There are a variety of factors that can contribute to difficulties conceiving. One of the most common is the age-related decline in the number and quality of eggs in a woman’s ovaries. Baby girls are born with all the eggs they will ever have, about two million. What differs from person to person is how quickly this ovarian reserve 'ages’ and begins to diminish.
There have been significant developments in assisted reproductive technologies such as controlled ovarian stimulation; this involves the use of medication to stimulate the development of eggs in order to increase the chances of getting pregnant.
A blood test looking for a biomarker known as the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) that can be taken at any time, allows the doctor to estimate how many eggs are left, and manage the woman through her fertility journey.
Further studies are examining other potential uses for the AMH test such as in polycystic ovary syndrome.
Every woman's gynaecologic health is unique and despite advances in healthcare, pre-eclampsia is a serious complication still experienced by many women in pregnancy. This occurs in 3-5 % of pregnancies and it is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal death worldwide.
Women who have a history of type 1 or type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure in a previous pregnancy, or have kidney disease have a higher risk of developing pre-eclampsia. It can occur as early as 20 weeks into the pregnancy where women may experience symptoms such as headaches, ankle swelling, and shortness of breath.
The cause of pre-eclampsia is thought to originate in the placenta, there are proteins called placental growth factors that can be measured in the blood that can greatly improve the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia and determine the risk in the first trimester of pregnancy.
At Roche we have developed a blood test that looks at two of these biomarkers. Together with other clinical information, the dual test can support clinicians to decide with greater confidence whether to admit a woman or to follow up in one week.
These tests are already beginning to be used in some maternity hospitals in Ireland. As we generate more evidence to show the benefits of their use in routine assessment, we may see a broader introduction in the future.
As a healthcare development manager, and as a mother of three children, I am excited by the potential of diagnostics to set a new standard for fertility and prenatal care in Ireland. This will help reduce unnecessary pain and suffering for those affected. At Roche, we are dedicated to addressing women’s health needs, developing a portfolio of innovative tests to positively change fertility and pregnancy experiences.
