MORGANTOWN — Mylan and Upjohn are now Viatris.
The union of the two companies closed on Monday, the date previously announced.
They described their vision in a Monday release announcing completion of the merger: “Viatris is a new kind of global healthcare company whose mission is to empower people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life by expanding access to medicines regardless of geography or circumstance; advancing responsible, sustainable operations and targeted innovation to improve patient health; and leveraging its collective expertise to connect more people to more products and services.
“We provide access to medicines, advance sustainable operations, develop innovative solutions and leverage our collective expertise to connect more people to more products and services through our one-of-a-kind Global Healthcare Gateway,” they said.
Mylan’s global infrastructure fuels or underpins the Gateway, it was previously explained. The Global Healthcare Gateway (a trademarked name) is a means for business partners that lack global market reach or manufacturing scale — small to midsize pharmaceutical companies or biotech startups for example — access to that infrastructure in order to bring more products to more people.
Viatris Executive Chairman Robert J. Coury said, “Today, we celebrate the launch of Viatris, the culmination of more than a decade of strategic, thoughtful work to build a global company with the breadth and depth to provide more efficient access to high-quality medicines to patients and healthcare systems around the world. I am extremely confident about the opportunities ahead for Viatris and the value we expect our company will create for all stakeholders – from our patients and employees, to customers and shareholders.”
With a workforce of about 45,000, Viatris – rhymes with “Beatrice” – is headquartered in the U.S. and has global centers in Pittsburgh, Shanghai and Hyderabad, India. It operates in markets in165 counties and territories.
Viatris CEO Michael Goettler said,”We commence our journey armed with an experienced and diverse management team, a strong financial profile and an enviable global infrastructure. Together, we are building a performance-driven, highly engaging and inclusive culture with colleagues united by a shared purpose in Viatris’ mission to help empower people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life.”
Viatris said it is embarking on a significant global restructuring program in order to achieve synergies – cost savings realized by pooling resources and trimming redundancies – of $1 billion by 2023. Mylan and Upjohn previous said they foresee about $3 billion in new revenue from products expected to launch by 2023.
Viatris said it is in the process of defining the specific parameters of the restructuring program, including workforce actions and other activities. Further details for this program are expected to be disclosed by the end of this year as plans are finalized.
The combination of Mylan and Upjohn was announced on July 29, 2019 and received the final regulatory clearance on Oct. 30. Viatris will begin regular way trading on Nasdaq, under the ticker symbol VTRS, at the beginning of the trading day on Tuesday, the first full trading day after closing.
Upjohn was a Pfizer subsidiary marketing 20 off-patent brand-name drugs such as Lipitor, Norvasc, Lyrica and Viagra and operated in more than 120 countries. Mylan, with a portfolio of more than 7,500 products, operated in more than 165 countries and territories with a workforce of about 35,000.
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