On May 30th, and with much fanfare, Pfizer Upjohn officially inaugurated its global headquarters in the heart of Shanghai, China. Following a global re-organization mid-2018, Pfizer now operates three business units, namely Innovative Medicines (including biosimilars and a new hospital business unit dealing with anti-infectives and sterile injectables), Consumer Healthcare, and Upjohn. Upjohn’s stated mission is to relieve the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) with its trusted portfolio of off-patent branded and generics medicines.
Currently, Upjohn’s medicines reach 54 million patients globally. Our goal is to treat 225 million new patients worldwide by 2025
Michael Goettler, group president, Pfizer Upjohn
Collecting 20 of the pharma industry’s most iconic brands, including stalwarts such as Lipitor, Lyrica and Viagra, and assembling nine world-class manufacturing sites across eight countries, including Pfizer’s existing finished products production facility in Dalian, China, Upjohn promises to bring together world-class commercial, manufacturing and medical expertise accumulated over 130 years of experience in improving patient lives – all underpinned by their core mantra of ‘fast, focused, flexible’.
In his opening speech, Group President Michael Goettler stressed the significance of this historic moment, which marks the first time a global pharma company has established its global HQ in China. He referenced the WHO in quoting that NCDs are “a slow-moving disaster”, representing over 70 percent of deaths globally, with over 80 percent of those deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. He emphasized that “Basing our global headquarters in China will enable us to better address the needs of the most underserved populations, particularly in emerging markets. Currently, Upjohn’s medicines reach 54 million patients globally. Our goal is to treat 225 million new patients worldwide by 2025.”
In her speech, Sally Susman, EVP and chief corporate affairs officer at Pfizer, as well as vice-chair of the Pfizer Foundation, observed, “Pharma companies that create value for people are the ones that survive in the future. [This mission] energizes our colleagues around the world and it energizes me.”
Goettler also stressed the importance of stakeholder partnership. He said, “To reduce the burden of NCDs and accelerate patient outcomes, we must adopt a holistic approach to strengthen prevention, diagnosis and treatment. National health systems need partners they can count on.”
With a strong cardiovascular footprint, Pfizer Upjohn also invited Chinese Academy of Sciences Academician Junbo Ge, also chief of cardiology at Zhongshan Hospital, to deliver a speech. He outlined the unfortunate rise in cardiovascular conditions in China over the past few decades. Today, two out of every five deaths in China are a result of cardiovascular diseases. In advance of the 13th Oriental Congress of Cardiology, Academician Ge also took the opportunity to introduce the China Cardiovascular Health Index (CHI), launched in 2018 as the first comprehensive public health index measuring the cardiovascular health of communities globally (The newly launched CHI 2019 can be accessed here: https://cvindex.hsmap.com/). Pfizer Upjohn has also supported the construction and launch of this index.
Other initiatives include Pfizer’s support of the ground-breaking cardiovascular disease education and awareness program launched by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in partnership with the Chinese Society of Cardiology, which has trained 6,000 physicians to date since its launch in 2016.
In addition to top Pfizer leadership and KOLs, the Mayor of Jing’an District, Shanghai, Mayor Yu Yong, and Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, Shang Yuying, also delivered speeches congratulating Pfizer Upjohn on the opening of their new global HQ.
