Michelle Erwee is the Global Head of Access to Medicine at Takeda, where she is responsible for accelerating patient access to Takeda’s highly innovative medicines in underserved communities.

Michelle started her professional career in South Africa as a midwife, hospital Unit Manager and later as hospital operations head. She then joined the pharmaceutical industry in 2004 and has spent the last 17 years at Takeda in various leadership positions across commercial business units, strategy & portfolio and general management covering many geographies.

A career spanning more than 25 years in the health industry has taken her across the globe, from Africa, Eastern Europe to the Middle-East and Asia. During this time Michelle has experienced the excitement and the challenges that comes from the diverse cultures, health systems and external frameworks. Both her professional and personal experiences have sparked a passion for enabling access to medicines for patients in need, across the globe.