We had an enjoyable interview with Novartis Pharma Turkey General Manager Mr. Avinash Potnis about the technologies used by the company, their targets in the coming years and the advantages they will bring to the sector.
Dear Mr. Avinash Potnis, could you please talk about yourself and your professional background?
I was born and raised in a small town in India, 500 km south of Mumbai. I studied here until I went to Mumbai for college. I completed my bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine and my master’s degree in Pharmacology.
I joined Sandoz in India in 1993. Initially I worked as Technical Service Executive with Animal Health business as part of Export division. Later, with formation of Novartis in 1996, I focused more on marketing. In 2005, joined back Sandoz, as Strategic Assistant to the Regional Director of Asia.
My first General Manager role was in Philippines in 2006. Within a year, I moved to Thailand as Director of Asian Distributor Market. In 2008, I assumed the role of Country President, Vietnam and led all the Novartis divisions before moving to a similar role in 2010, in Malaysia.
In 2013, I moved to the Novartis Headquarters in Basel, Switzerland and assumed the position of Head of the Ophthalmology Unit of the Novartis APMA Region (Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa). Since 2017, I have been the General Manager of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Turkey.
What would you like to say about Novartis as a pharmaceutical company that provides solutions for the needs of patients?
The Novartis Group is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies based in Switzerland, with roots dating back to 1758. We operate in 140 countries around the world with approximately 105,000 employees.
We operate in Turkey since 1950’s. As of 2019, we employ 2,400 people, including 4 production facilities and our headquarters in Kavacık, Istanbul. Innovative and generic drugs are being produced in Turkey. Today, Novartis Turkey is a leading pharmaceutical company that exports to more than 100 countries.
Every year, we make significant investments in R&D activities. Last year in Turkey, we reached more than 5 million patients. As Novartis, we attribute this success to the Novartis culture that we have created with our patient- oriented approach and innovative human resource practices.
Could you please tell us about your product range and working areas?
The Novartis Group operates with three main divisions. Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Novartis Oncology and Sandoz. Novartis Pharmaceuticals focuses on innovative treatments in the fields of cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological science, ophthalmology, immunology, hepatology, and dermatology. Novartis Oncology focuses on different types of cancer treatments and Sandoz offers generic and biosimilar products.
