Pfizer Upjohn launches global headquarters in Shanghai
Michael Goettler, Group President of Pfizer Upjohn, said Shanghai is a strategic location for the company as pharmaceutical demand is still huge in emerging markets.
Pfizer has officially launched the global headquarters of its generic and off-patent drug unit Pfizer Upjohn in Shanghai on Thursday, the first of its kind for a multinational drug company.
Michael Goettler, Group President of Pfizer Upjohn, said Shanghai is a strategic location for the company as pharmaceutical demand is still huge in emerging markets and it chose to put global headquarters in Shanghai to respond faster to the local health care market in a focused and flexible way.
The company said it aims to bring an integrated approach to disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment to emerging markets by working together with partners, and its goal is to treat 225 million new patients worldwide by 2025 compared to about 54 million patients it now serves.
Deputy secretary general of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee Shang Yuying said that Shanghai would step up efforts to create a better business environment for overseas investment and knowledge exchange.
"We hope technology and academic exchange with overseas companies and institutions will continue to boom and we will offer better exchange platforms for these dialogues," she noted.
The city last year unveiled an action plan to push forward high-end development of bio-pharmaceutical industries which encourages collaboration between companies, research institutions and stakeholders.
Pfizer Upjohn is one of the three business units of Pfizer globally and has more than twenty types of drugs.
"We welcome the Chinese government's efforts to increase accessibility of high quality medicines and we expect the government to make a right balance between the cost and quality to ensure accessibility and affordable for patients," added Wu Feng, Pfizer Upjohn China general manager.
Globally 70 percent deaths are caused by non-communicable diseases and 80 percent of these fatalities happen in low and middle-income countries. "We aim to serve an increasing number of patients as non-communicable disease still poses huge economic and health threats for patients and society," Goettler added.
It will also continue to invest in education, diagnosis and patient awareness and would certainly look at other investment opportunities in and outside of China. Most recently it has added some 600 medical representatives to help expand to lower tier cities and rural market.
Last year Upjohn sales in China, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, contribute US$2.4 billion to Upjohn's globally revenue of US$12.5 billion.
