Kasem Akhras is Senior Director of Public Affairs Advocacy for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region at Novartis based in Dubai. He is part of the MENA Executive Leadership Team.

Dr. Akhras has 22 years of experience in global Pharmaceutical industry with several top 10 Pharma companies in the area of Pricing and Health Economics, Outcomes Research, Patient Access, and Health Policy. Dr. Akhras moved to Dubai in 2013 to join Novartis Pharma Division as Head of Market Access where he was instrumental in developing and implementing a number of Patient Access Initiatives for several innovative products. He is published extensively in peer-reviewed journals in the area economic evaluations in healthcare, real-world evidence, and health policy, and is a frequent guest speaker at Regional and International congresses.

Dr. Akhras is an active member of the PhRMA Middle East and Africa Executive Committee, and served as Chairman of the Policy and Access Working Group for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association in the Gulf (PHRMAG) from 2014-2016.

He graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Pharmacy with a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree and completed his Pharmacy Practice Residency at Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Medical Center in Chicago. Dr. Akhras continues to hold an appointment as Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy at UIC.