SERVIER BULGARIA: SMALL DAILY STEPS, BIG HEALTH IMPACT

Servier Bulgaria is a pharmaceutical company committed to providing high-quality therapeutic solutions for patients. We speak with Dr. Maria Drumeva, General Manager of Servier Bulgaria, about the importance of treatment adherence and key priorities in cardiometabolic diseases and oncology.

How would you briefly present Servier Bulgaria – what is your mission and what guides your day-to-day work?

Servier Bulgaria is part of the global pharmaceutical group Servier, governed by a non‑profit foundation and committed to delivering social impact for patients and supporting a sustainable world.

For more than 32 years in Bulgaria, we have been partnering with the healthcare community to support timely diagnosis, good medical practice in line with current guidelines, and appropriate adherence to long‑term therapy. As a company dedicated to therapeutic progress in the service of patients, we support the healthcare community's efforts to improve the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, which remains a leading cause of mortality in Bulgaria.

This year, World Adherence Day received broad media and public attention. Why is treatment adherence so critical for health outcomes?

Adherence matters because medicines work best when taken as prescribed. In chronic diseases, inconsistent use can increase the risk of preventable complications such as heart attack and stroke and add pressure to the health system.

On 27 March, we mark World Adherence Day with initiatives dedicated to strengthening awareness around treatment adherence and cardiovascular health.

Servier is committed to supporting awareness on the importance of treatment adherence. In Bulgaria, the day was highlighted through a press conference in collaboration with our partners, the Bulgarian Society of Cardiology and the Bulgarian League of Hypertension. The event brought together national experts who highlighted a clear message: hypertension control remains a significant challenge, and cardiovascular diseases account for a substantial share of mortality in the country.

It is obvious why hypertension control is such a priority in Bulgaria, and what is Mission 70/27?

Bulgaria is among the European countries with high cardiovascular mortality, and hypertension is a major risk factor. Despite clear clinical recommendations and effective therapies, blood pressure control in real-world practice is still insufficient. This is why coordinated action is needed – from clinicians, institutions, patients, and partners.

Mission 70/27 is a national initiative of the Bulgarian Society of Cardiology, which we support, aiming to achieve blood pressure control in 70% of patients with hypertension by 2027 by overcoming therapeutic inertia, following guidelines, and improving adherence.

When treatment becomes too complex, the risk that patients discontinue increases. How can the industry, and Servier in particular, address this challenge?

A complex dosing regimen is a real barrier in chronic disease: for the patient, the more tablets and steps, the harder it is to sustain treatment over time. That is why we look for solutions that simplify patients' daily routine without compromising clinical goals. Servier is the first company to provide patients with a quadruple fixed-dose combination in a single tablet – an approach designed to reduce pill burden and help address adherence challenges, supporting better blood pressure control in everyday practice.

Oncology is one of the most challenging areas for patients and their families. What is the role of innovation in this area and how can it truly change the patient's journey?

In oncology, every innovation can be meaningful because it can enable more precise, personalized treatment. For Servier, this is the natural extension of our mission to support patients and healthcare professionals over the long term. We are expanding our work in oncology by focusing on therapies that address clearly defined patient needs and support clinicians with additional treatment options – always with the goal of improving outcomes and quality of life.

How would you explain the success of Servier on the Bulgarian pharma market?

As mentioned above, our product portfolio strategy has played a key role in Servier's success in Bulgaria. But additionally, we have supported our solutions with a highly educated and talented team, fully able to talk peer-to-peer with Bulgarian physicians. Indeed, we have invested a lot in the training and development of our people, to ensure that our human capital remains at the forefront of medical knowledge in all our therapeutic areas.

For us, being dedicated to patients means taking steps that aim to improve outcomes – supporting prevention and timely diagnosis, making chronic treatment easier to follow, investing in innovation where unmet needs are greatest! Because therapeutic progress matters only when it reaches the patient!

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