From Family Business to FTSE 100 Giant: The Man Who Helped Build a Pharma Empire | Mazen Darwazeh | Live from the World Economic Forum, Dalian

Mazen S. Darwazeh is the Executive Chairman and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Hikma Pharmaceuticals, and a Jordanian senator currently serving his fifth term.His journey with Hikma began in 1985 as a medical representative.

Over the next four decades, he rose through the company to lead its MENA business and help shape Hikma into the largest pharmaceutical company by sales in the region and a FTSE 100 multinational employing around 9,500 people across three continents.

Recorded in Dalian, China, this conversation was made possible thanks to the World Economic Forum, who facilitated the episode during the Annual Meeting of the New Champions.

On this episode, we talk about what it takes to preserve the values of a family-built company as it becomes a global institution, Hikma’s ambitions for healthcare in the Middle East, the growing role of biosimilars and biotechnology, and the challenge of ensuring access to essential medicines in a region shaped by geopolitical uncertainty.

We also discuss China’s evolving role in the pharmaceutical industry, Mazen’s perspective from both business and public service, and what four decades in healthcare have taught him about leadership, longevity and building something that lasts.