Viatris Inc at Goldman Sachs Global Healthcare Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Scott, maybe starting with you. Could you kind of take us through the strategic transformation at a high level. And I think as you look forward, kind of what are the priorities for the company for the next few years? And what are kind of the keys to delivering kind of sustainable growth over time?

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : And can you kind of help investors think about what kind of ties the recent deals that you've done together, eye care, Idorsia assets that you currently have in your pipeline, kind of what's kind of the expertise that you bring and why these are the right assets for Viatris?

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : And I guess, how do you go about kind of finding those kind of blockbuster type assets? I think you kind of talked in the past about preferring low-risk Phase 3 commercial-ready products. Can you maybe just talk a little bit about the evaluation criteria the company uses to just figure out which ones have an attractive risk return.

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Got it. Okay. And I wanted to follow up on the divestitures. So the EU, I think, extended the deadline around the European OTC divestiture through later in June. Just any update on kind of what's needed to close that deal, and that's sort of the cornerstone of the divestiture that you are dealing.

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Great. At this point. So how do you kind of think building the pipeline, R&D as a percent of sales and how that should (technical difficulty) bringing to market a few of these assets that I want to get into kind of think about that?

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : So (technical difficulty) an accelerant to that (technical difficulty) as those come to market potentially.

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : I guess just in this environment, obviously, we heard a lot kind of yesterday about high rates, how that's impacting kind of how companies are thinking about allocating capital. Has it changed kind of the deal pipeline for you, the types of deals that you might be seeing, as companies think about cash needs, that type of thing. Are they -- are you seeing more kind of biotech kind of look for a partner potentially?

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Yeah. Maybe, Philippe, going through some of the Idorsia assets. I guess selatogrel (technical difficulty) you talked about the enrollment that you're targeting and kind of being a decent way into that process. I guess can you maybe just talk about that enrollment process? What are the challenges of enrolling patients in that trial? And kind of what are the next updates that investors should expect to hear?

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Got it. And so, but that doesn't really assume any benefit from kind of the expenditure.

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Okay. And then I guess it's definitely a different type of drug in terms of administration. Can you maybe just talk about kind of level of confidence that patients will be able to kind of successfully self-administer the drug? And then I also wanted to ask about kind of the risk reduction that you're targeting. And I think you've talked about kind of 20% risk reduction, why that's sort of the appropriate?

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Yeah. And on cenerimod, I mean, it's a challenging disease area to treat. I think the Phase 2 data, I think, was kind of nominally statistically significant, but you had much better results in the interferon-high patient cohort. And I think you're targeting 80% enrollment of those interferon-high patients in the Phase 3 trial. So I guess, is that where enrollment is tracking currently? And can you kind of talk about why that was maybe the right approach to take? And would there be any implications for kind of the indication or label that the FDA gives you based on that?

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : And I guess I think it's obviously an area where there's a lot of kind of provider expertise in terms of how to treat patients. Is there -- does that, I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves of commercialization, but just like how you're thinking about going to market and you guys expect it to be -- potentially be a blockbuster drug, what it would take to kind of be commercially successful with the product?

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : And how would that work with Idorsia? Is that currently part of the agreement that you have? Or would that kind of require a separate agreement of additional --

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Okay. Theodora maybe moving over to you. Scott kind of at the outset talked about getting to low single digit growth with the existing portfolio and then potentially having BD add to that. I guess, can you help us think through the path to get there. I think in the first quarter, there's some kind of unique dynamics around formulary design and rebates with some of the legacy products. Is that something that continues to kind of weigh on the business over the course of the year until you kind of lap it? And then is that when we start to see maybe an inflection in the base business growth?

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Yeah. So I mean it sounds like your kind of close to that point where new product launches kind of outweigh the base business erosion and that's kind of what allows you to get back to that kind of low single digit growth and more?

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Yeah. Can I ask you on the generic pricing, in US generic pricing specifically? I know it continues to go down in terms of percent of sales. But I think you have a good perspective on it. And I guess, do you feel like where we've seen any structural changes in the market that would maybe make that more favorable on a sustainable basis, whether its fewer manufacturers participating a bit more focused on security of supply, that type of thing that would shift it from what I think investors are used to historically.

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : The other question I kind of wanted to ask from the developed markets business is kind of post the divestiture of the OTC business. How should investors be thinking about like the longer-term growth profile for Europe? without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. 'Thomson Reuters' and the Thomson Reuters logo are registered trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies. JUNE 11, 2024 / 1:20PM, VTRS.OQ - Viatris Inc at Goldman Sachs Global Healthcare Conference

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Yeah. And I wanted to also ask on China. I feel like a lot has changed since the Upjohn transaction. Could you maybe just talk about how you see the market today? And is it any different in terms of uptick in the retail channel. Obviously, a lot of your drugs have gone through VBP. So there's not really like that overhang anymore, but just the level of growth that you would expect from that market.

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Great. We have about a minute left. Maybe, Scott, just to wrap up, with kind of where the company is trading right now and with where valuation is, I guess, how would you frame maybe what you think investors are missing with the story?

Question: Nathan Rich - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Great. Well, thank you all very much for your time. We really appreciate it.