“Uruguay has great potential to become a hub for innovation in life sciences”

It was 2021, and the world was experiencing one of its most uncertain moments. The COVID-19 pandemic was transforming everyday life and profoundly challenging healthcare systems and business leadership. In this unique context, Nathalie Leclerc arrived in Uruguay to take over as general manager of Roche in the country, as well as in Bolivia and Paraguay.

Four years later, before leaving for her new professional destination, she shared with Uruguay XXI her experience, technical analysis, and the genuine emotion of someone who felt at home. “I arrived in the middle of the pandemic and felt that Uruguay welcomed me with open arms. It was not an easy time for anyone, and yet I felt supported from day one,” she said.

What was supposed to be another stage in her professional career became a meaningful life experience. “My husband and I traveled the country from end to end, discovering its landscapes, people, and culture. Many people tell me that I am the most Uruguayan of all the French, and maybe they are right,” she said with a laugh.

But beyond the personal, Leclerc takes away a firm conviction: Uruguay has what it takes to become a regional—and even global—center of excellence in life sciences innovation.

A fertile ecosystem for science

From her role at the helm of Roche, Leclerc had the opportunity to closely observe the institutional, academic, and business framework that shapes Uruguay’s scientific ecosystem. “Uruguay has great potential as an innovation hub. I see this both in the institutional stability it offers and in the quality of its researchers and digital infrastructure,” she said.

Stability is a determining factor in an industry such as pharmaceuticals, where developing a new treatment can take one or even two decades. “We are an industry that needs this kind of long-term visibility [...] Uruguay provides institutional and political stability and a clear legal, regulatory framework,” she said.

Talent and collaboration: two strategic assets

One aspect that Leclerc highlighted most was the quality of local talent. “Uruguay has high-quality researchers, human resources, academia, universities [...] a highly skilled workforce,” she said.

But what makes the difference, in his view, is the culture of collaboration. “I was positively surprised by the ease and ability to establish connections and bring together various actors such as academia, industry, and government to have a constructive dialogue [...] In Uruguay, there is an openness, a genuine willingness to build solutions together, which is very valuable,” she said.

This coordination translated into concrete results. In 2024, Roche, in conjunction with Uruguay XXI and the Roche Institute in Paris, organized the Research Camp in Punta del Este. It was the first time this event, which brings together researchers worldwide to work on challenges such as oncology and neuroscience, was held outside Europe. “Not only was it a success from a scientific point of view, it was also a great opportunity to show the world what Uruguay has to offer,” she recalls.

Digital infrastructure and vision for the future

For Leclerc, one of the key factors projecting Uruguay into the future is its technological infrastructure. “The country already has an excellent digital base, especially in health, which provides a strong foundation for building and embracing technology, innovation, and artificial intelligence,” she explained.

This technological environment is helpful for public health management and enables advanced use of data in biomedical research. “The ability to work with real data from the health system is a differentiator. Uruguay has the maturity to do so responsibly and efficiently,” she said.

Looking ahead to his return to Europe, Leclerc had a clear message for any foreign company considering investing in the region: “A foreign company looking to invest in the life sciences sector should invest in Uruguay because it has institutional stability that gives them a long-term vision that is very compatible with the timeframes for scientific research.”