Thomas Cueni has led IFPMA since 2017, during which time he has been instrumental in establishing cross sectoral programs designed to tackle the biggest global health challenges.
This includes establishing the $1bn AMR Action Fund to support the development of new antibiotics; as Chair of the AMR Alliance; as a member of the Board of City Cancer Challenge; and as the industry’s representative on the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator.
Leading the IFPMA through the COVID-19 pandemic, Thomas galvanised the industry to develop the Berlin Declaration – the pharmaceutical industry’s blueprint to deliver equitable access to vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics in future pandemics. Thomas is Chair of the Business at OECD Health Committee and serves as Industry Co-Chair of the APEC Biopharmaceutical Working Group on Ethics. He is also a member of the Business Advisory Group established by the Director General of the World Trade Organization.
Prior to joining IFPMA, Thomas was Secretary General of Interpharma, the trade association representing Switzerland’s research-based pharmaceutical industry; Secretary of the Dolder Group, precursor of what’s now the BCR; and served on the Board of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). Thomas began his career as a journalist, as London correspondent for the Basler Zeitung and Der Bund, before serving as a Swiss diplomat in Paris (OECD) and Vienna (IAEA, UNIDO).
Thomas has a master’s degree in economics from the University of Basel and another in politics from the London School of Economics. He also studied at the Geneva Graduate Institute for International Studies.
I am a firm believer in finding common ground to tackle global health challenges. It is this aim for shared solutions that motivates everything IFPMA does.
More from Thomas
Innovation and equity: at the core of future pandemic responses
In this year’s edition of Health: A Political Choice – From Fragmentation to Integration, Thomas Cueni focuses on the lessons learned from COVID-19. When the next pandemic hits, the success of our response will depend on how well we react to the lessons learned from Covid-19. The world was ill prepared for the pandemic, costing millions of...
Read more
Health at the UN General Assembly: Innovation and equity for pandemic preparedness
Ahead of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78), IFPMA Director General, Thomas Cueni underscores the need for pandemic preparedness plans to support innovation and equity. Global leaders must ensure science and innovation can again deliver at record speed and scale, while supporting voluntary partnerships and enabling scientists to have unhindered access...
Read more
#AlwaysInnovating: The importance of pharmaceutical innovation
Since I joined the pharmaceutical industry over 35 years ago, we have seen incredible scientific progress in how we diagnose, prevent, and treat disease. A new generation of cancer treatments have transformed outcomes for patients. We’ve seen mRNA vaccines developed in response to the COVID pandemic, and personalized medicines have become a reality for patients...
Read more