Sydney, 15 November 2021. Viatris, a new kind of global healthcare company, celebrates its one-year anniversary this week. Viatris was formed in November 2020 through the combination of Mylan and Upjohn, a legacy division of Pfizer, and its mission is to empower people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life by providing access to high quality, trusted medicines.
Viatris is a leading supplier of medicines to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and supplies one in every six prescribed medicines in Australia. The company’s scientific, manufacturing and distribution expertise are all geared towards delivering a future-focused vision of “healthcare not as it is, but as it should be.”
“One year ago, we became Viatris and can uniquely support patients through our broad portfolio of brands, generics, biosimilars and OTC medicines. We are also continuing to invest in our local manufacturing and distribution capabilities to provide patients with access to medicines,” said Sylvain Vigneault, Viatris Australia Country Manager.
“Viatris was launched amid the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic following the disruptions of bushfires and floods,” continued Vigneault.
In 2020 Viatris received an API Supplier of the Year Award for efforts to circumnavigate fires blocking the only sealed road between South Australia and Western Australia. With the Eyre Highway closed to all traffic for 12 days because of bushfires, severely impacting the delivery of food and medicine supplies, Viatris found a way to get essential medicines by rail instead.
“We added efficiencies to Australia’s medicines supply chain through a $20 million warehouse and distribution centre near our Carole Park manufacturing facility in Queensland. One of the advantages of the 12,500sqm facility is that it routinely keeps healthy inventories of stock on hand, which is another way we can step in and support the market if another supplier experiences stock issues. When necessary, we can ship an order from our warehouse to anywhere around the country overnight,” continued Vigneault.
Advancing patient education and care through digital channels has also been a significant priority for Viatris over the last year. As the distributor of EpiPen®, used for the treatment of anaphylaxis, Viatris launched the MyEpiPen® patient support program, which has nearly 40,000 members.
The program includes features such as expiry reminders to prompt patients to get a new prescription, video explainers and free trainer devices for members. It also includes “how to use” cards to keep at home and share with friends and family so people will know what to do in the event of an emergency. The how to use video guide has been translated into 25 different languages.
“Our strength goes beyond our products. It’s the strength of our people and our culture that make it all possible. The last 12 months brought unprecedented challenges and our almost 800 strong workforce have weathered those challenges together. I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Viatris family for their resilience and for successfully supporting so many patients during our first year,” Vigneault said.
About Viatris
Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ: VTRS) is a new kind of healthcare company, empowering people worldwide to live
healthier at every stage of life. 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®. Formed in November 2020, Viatris
brings together scientific, manufacturing and distribution expertise with proven regulatory, medical and
commercial capabilities to deliver high-quality medicines to patients in more than 165 countries and
territories. Viatris' portfolio comprises more than 1,400 approved molecules across a wide range of
therapeutic areas, spanning both non-communicable and infectious diseases, including globally
recognized brands, complex generic and branded medicines, a growing portfolio of biosimilars and a
variety of over-the-counter consumer products. With a global workforce of over 38,000, Viatris is
headquartered in the U.S., with global centers in Pittsburgh, Shanghai and Hyderabad, India. Learn more
at viatris.com and investor.viatris.com, and connect with us on Twitter at @ViatrisInc, LinkedIn and
YouTube.
Media contact
Alicia Campagnolo
Communications Manager, Australia and New Zealand
M: +61 449 902 687
E: alicia.campagnolo@viatris.com