Viatris president Rajiv Malik to retire in April next year

New Delhi: Indian-born Rajiv Malik, president of the world's largest generics drugmaker Viatris, will retire in April next year, the Nasdaq-listed company has informed stock exchanges.

Malik was instrumental in the $12 billion merger of Mylan with Pfizer's generic drug unit that resulted in the creation of Viatris in 2019. The combined entity's sales are more than that of Israel's Teva, which was previously the largest generic drug company in the world.

"There are not enough words to express how much Rajiv Malik as both a partner and a leader has meant to me, first at Mylan and now Vitara's. He is the rarest of individuals who possesses a truly unique skillset. We could not have reached all of our successes to date without him", said Robert J. Coury, executive chairman, Viatris.


Malik will continue to serve on the board of Viatris after his retirement, as per the stock exchange communication.

"I am pleased that Rajiv has agreed to remain on the board to ensure the continuity of his experience and insight on the overall operations of the company," said Coury.

Malik spent a large part of his early career at Ranbaxy, where he was the head of global regulatory affairs and pharma research, before moving to Swiss drug maker Sandoz.