Journal of Medicines Optimisation - Mar 2022

Journal of Medicines Optimisation • Volume 8 • Issue 1 • March 2022 29 Can you give us an overview of your career to date? I’m an Australian but have been based in the UK for the last five years. I have over 20 years of experience in a series of roles of increasing responsibility and I have been fortunate enough to be able to work in two regions of the world, both Asia and Europe. I have also been able to work in three different pharmaceutical divisions - consumer healthcare, manufacturing and commercial in product portfolios that range from over the counter to prescription brands. My main focus and the portfolio that I have the most experience in has been most relevant to pharmacy and the delivery of care, particularly in the off-patent space. What are your main responsibilities in your current role within Viatris? My main responsibility as UK Country Manager is leading the commercial delivery of all products and services within Viatris UK. All of our activity centres around our company mission to empower people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life, regardless of geography or circumstance. It is going to be through the development of our value based partnerships with important sectors like pharmacy that we are going to make the difference. We aim to provide access to high quality medicines, healthcare solutions and education to enable patient empowerment for better health. We are very proud in the UK to be the second largest supplier of medicines to the NHS. We treat over 6 million patients in the UK annually with our portfolio and have products in our portfolio that treat almost every stage of life. We support a large number of patients in the UK and I feel incredibly grateful and humbled to be able to lead this organisation in the UK, on behalf of 500 colleagues who work locally within their communities with a regional based system and even on the global stage as the UK is a reference market for a lot of other countries. My main responsibilities include management of people, customers, operations and finance; using a range of customer, financial, environmental and social value metrics to ensure that we deliver a reliable high-quality service and resilient, sustainable medicine supply. PM remains totally dedicated to delivering unrivalled education and development for pharmacists and enhancing the communication between the pharmaceutical industry and the NHS, in order to continually improve patient outcomes and access to medicines. The pharmaceutical industry will play a vital part in the success of the new NHS structures and their continued support of educational programs will remain pivotal. We are delighted to announce our first formal corporate industry partnership with healthcare company, Viatris. As the role of the pharmacist becomes even more key to the delivery and safety of medicines, Viatris is committed to supporting pharmacy. Ted Butler, Chairman of PM recently interviewed Viatris UK Country Manager, Matt Salzmann to find out more about the Viatris healthcare story, mission and commitment to pharmacy. Matt Salzmann