Dr. Leslie Asanga, a pharmacist and visionary entrepreneur, has dedicated over a decade to advancing healthcare through entrepreneurship. In response to healthcare challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Asanga founded Pills2Me, an on-demand prescription delivery service to improve medication accessibility. He also co-founded UrPharm, which enhances access to medications in Sub-Saharan Africa, addressing critical health disparities.
“Try to solve a problem that people really care about. That should be the goal. Everything else will fall in place if you figure out a genuine problem that you’re solving. ”
Leslie Asanga, MPH '20
His experience provided a valuable perspective on public health innovation, making this discussion an inspiring opportunity for aspiring health entrepreneurs. His journey began out of necessity– building businesses to provide for his siblings and family. Through savings he secured through his entrepreneurial endeavors, he moved to the U.S. for his education in pharmacy. Later on, his experience as a pharmacist propelled him to confront the healthcare inequities in the pharmacy sector. Determined to make an impact in advancing health equity, he pursued an MPH here at Yale School of Public Health to intersect his knowledge in pharmacy and public health practices to impact people’s lives in the U.S. and his home country, Cameroon. This conversation, moderated by Fatema Basrai, Managing Director of the Sustainable Health Initiative and InnovateHealth Yale, empowered students to take their first steps in the fast-evolving world of health innovation.
When asked how students can find real-world problems to solve, Dr. Leslie Asanga emphasized the importance of immersing themselves in areas they are genuinely passionate about to identify pain points. He noted that gaining experience through jobs, internships, or shadowing professionals provides valuable insider perspectives that help identify real problems to solve. However, Dr. Asanga cautioned that “not every problem or idea is worth solving,” stressing the need to validate identified problems by engaging with users to ensure the issue resonates and is genuinely worth solving.
Dr. Asanga shared his thoughts on what it takes to achieve true community-driven innovation. Community-driven innovation demands a deep sense of empathy and the active involvement of community members—particularly the end-users—at every stage of the process. By consistently engaging end users, innovators can better understand the problems and needs that matter most to the community and uncover valuable insights that inform the design of sustainable solutions.
To end the impactful discussion, Dr. Asanga offered practical advice for students interested in pursuing innovative fields. He highlighted the abundance of resources across Yale and encouraged students to create a clear roadmap of their goals and actively seek opportunities that align with their ambitions. Drawing from his experience, Dr. Asanga shared how his interest in public health entrepreneurship led him to take relevant courses at the School of Public Health and Management. He also practiced leveraging programs like InnovateHealth Yale and the Sustainable Health Initiative to gain deeper experience and knowledge. He highlighted the power of sharing ideas, recounting how a chance elevator ride with Fatema Basrai turned into a literal elevator pitch—and eventually the Thorne Prize at Startup Yale 2020.
Learn more about Leslie’s organizations, Pills2Me and UrPharm