Future Viatris looks forward to offering diverse therapies across the world

Viatris, which will be formed by Mylan and Pfizer Upjohn, a division of Pfizer, introduced its brand to the China market during the third China International Import Expo, reflecting a strong recognition of both the expo and the Chinese market.

Viatris aims to empower people to live healthier lives, backed by products covering a wide range of treatment fields and forward-looking disease management concepts, as well as digital technologies.

"We are committed to providing high-quality medicines and health management services for the Chinese market, and jointly build the national health plan 'Healthy China 2030', which aims to improve people's health as a crucial part of the country's development strategy," said Sean Ni. He is the senior vice-president of Global Strategy, BD and Commercial Capabilities in Pfizer Upjohn, and will be the regional president of Greater China of Viatris.

Supported by more than 45,000 employees in areas such as research and development, quality control, manufacturing, regulatory, Viatris can provide services to patients in more than 165 countries and regions.

Viatris will unite Upjohn's strong position in China and emerging markets with Mylan's significant presence in the United States and Europe. This will allow the new company to have an expanded geographic reach for Viatris' broad product portfolio and future pipeline.

In addition to products listed in China, Ni said Viatris combines Upjohn's trusted brand with Mylan's diversified product portfolio. It can provide products in almost all major therapeutic areas.

For instance, Mylan is a global leader in the field of HIV treatment and it has a variety of new anti-AIDS drugs on sale or under development.

In term of introducing new drugs and future plans, Ni said the company imported the latest Viagra ODT (orally disintegrating tablets), which is more convenient to take, from France and launched it in October, bringing encouraging news to Chinese patients.

The new company will have a rich product portfolio globally, covering more than 10 therapeutic areas, involving approximately 1,400 medicines including 20 world-renowned high-quality drugs in China, covering fields including cardiovascular, psychiatry, urology, allergic reactions, neurology and pain, liver diseases and infections, orthopedics and rheumatism.

Pfizer Upjohn's iconic brand products have been widely used in the field of cardiovascular diseases across the Chinese market for more than two decades, benefiting more than 89 million patients.

As China is the first country to successfully contain COVID-19 among major global economies, Ni said the CIIE this year is particularly significant.

The company looks forward to the government's continuous effort to introduce strong measures on improving the business environment and aiding technology innovation in the area of healthcare.

"The CIIE is a major decision made by the Chinese government to actively and further open its market to the world. It is a comprehensive platform for global trade, investment and cooperation that brings new development opportunities to economies, especially amid the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic," he added.

As the CIIE began as scheduled, he said this demonstrates the strong resilience and huge potential of the Chinese market.

Major international pharmaceutical companies have all showcased their new products and public health solutions at the third CIIE in Shanghai from Nov 5-10. Measuring 60,000 square meters, the exhibition area of the healthcare and medical equipment hall has attracted nearly 340 exhibitors, said the CIIE Bureau, the event's organizer.

According to the latest forecasts of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the growth rate of healthcare expenditure in almost every OECD country will exceed that of GDP over the next 15 years.

Thanks to the government's continued investment, overall health in China has been increasing over the past five years. The average life expectancy increased from 76.3 years in 2015 to 77.3 years in 2019 due to improved healthcare services. Individual expenditures accounted for 28.4 percent of China's total health costs in 2019, according to data released by the National Health Commission.

With the aging population adding pressure to Chinese society, Ni said that Viatris will promote advanced diagnosis and treatment programs in China. This will help doctors provide patients with more efficient diagnoses and individualized treatment, as well as convenient healthcare services to improve the efficiency of the country's medical system.

During the CIIE, Pfizer Upjohn signed a MOU with China Population Welfare Foundation to support its efforts to conduct online projects via 'Internet Plus innovative mode'. It aims to help patients form a habit of routine blood pressure monitoring and improve the connection between patients and doctors through online platforms to increase the awareness and control rate of hypertension.

Ni said online healthcare has brought much convenience and extended the coverage of affordable medical care to as many users as possible. It has done this through enhancements to telemedicine, artificial intelligence-aided diagnosis and treatment, and the process of doctor appointments, medical examinations, payments, and interprovincial medical expense reimbursement.

China had a population aged 60 or more of 254 million by the end of 2019, accounting for 18.1 percent of the nation. The number is expected to exceed 300 million in the next five years, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Due to chronic diseases leading to high costs for individuals, families, health systems, the economy and society more broadly－especially in low-and middle income countries that bear a disproportionate share of the burden－Ni said that Viatris will rely on its advantages such as its rich disease management experience, diversified global product portfolio, omnichannel commercialization capabilities and global supply chain to support China's prevention and control works in this category.

As China enters the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), Miao Tianxiang, chairman and regional president of Pfizer Upjohn Greater China, and chairman of the future Viatris, stressed that Viatris will further integrate the advantages of Mylan and Upjohn. It will continue supporting the government's implementation of the comprehensive prevention and control strategy for various chronic diseases, and work with partners from all sectors to contribute to China's medical and health industry.

The pandemic has also made people conscious of good health, and this has created a huge demand for products and services in the industry, said Zhang Yuxin, a marketing professor at China Medical University in Shenyang, Liaoning province.

"With surging demand, both global and domestic pharmaceutical companies should better integrate their research and development of products using cutting-edge technologies, such as introducing more practical and cheaper online solutions and developing clarity on how their products can benefit consumers," he said.