Matthew Salzmann elected as new BGMA Vice Chair

He is committed to making the UK a global hub for off-patent medicine innovation 

The British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) has elected Matthew Salzmann, UK Country Manager at Viatris, as its new Vice-Chair with immediate effect.

He will replace the current chair of the BGMA, Diane DiGangi-Trench, who is the UK country head for Sandoz.

Salzman, who is originally from Australia, has served approximately 1 billion patients worldwide last year as the UK Country Manager at Viatris, a global pharmaceutical company operating in 165 countries.

In his role as BGMA Vice-Chair, Salzmann would focus on working in partnership with key stakeholders – the NHS, healthcare professionals, policy makers, clinical societies, patient associations, academia - to ensure access to affordable and sustainable medicines for patients and the NHS.

Salzmann said: “I would like us to contribute at making the UK a globally attractive environment for companies to invest in and launch off-patent medicines. Swift licensing processes and streamlined NHS stock allocations are essential components of this goal.”

The BGMA members supply approximately 85 per cent of NHS medicines, saving the system around £15 billion annually.

Currently, the association is following closely the operationalisation of the recently announced Voluntary scheme for branded medicines, pricing, access and growth (VPAG).

Mark Samuels, chief executive of the BGMA, commented that they are “very fortunate” to have someone of Salzmann’s caliber take up this position, and that they are looking forward to “even more of his input via this leadership role” into the issues that matter the most to the industry.

BGMA is the representative trade association for off-patent medicines, and its members include eight of the ten largest medicine suppliers to the NHS.