Chief executive Claudio Albrecht said the company chose Zug because it is centrally located in Switzerland and close to Zurich, which is one of Europe’s major crossroads.
Albrecht also said the generics industry as we know it today will be gone within the next ten years as the lines between innovator and generics companies blur and current big Pharma companies lose patent protection over their current best-selling drugs.
‘In 2016, out of the top 20 drugs, more than half will be biologics, others will be hard-to-develop generics, such as inhalers,’ he said.
Albrecht added: ‘Payers need modern approaches to cope with exploding healthcare costs, and Actavis' answer to this is to think smart medicine.’
‘This means that we have to come up with more clever concepts, for example, offerings in managed care regarding dose dispensing.’
Actavis aims to become a global player in diabetes by building an international diabetes franchise around recombinant and analogue insulins.
‘There are 230 million diabetes patients worldwide. We will be the first company in the future to offer the broadest diabetes portfolio,’ said Albrecht.
The company also aims to offer direct-to-consumer concepts in the area of dermatology and female health and form ‘intelligent strategic partnerships’ so that it can remain ahead of its competitors.
