News
A positive 2009 for the Chiesi Group, which confirms and further improves the growth trend recorded over the last few years, both in Italy and internationally. Sales reached € 872 million with a growth of 16,5% in 2008, approximately three times the average of the world market. Aside from the traditional grounds of the Group, this data includes the results of Cornerstone Therapeutics, an American company acquired in 2009 and consolidated into total sales for the August-December period. The overall contribution of the Italian market was 34,6%, a growth of 5,2% compared to 2008. More than 65% of earning was on international markets.
Once again, the company’s own products expanded their contribution to total sales. The drug for treating asthma, Foster®, almost doubled in sales, due in part to launches in Russia, South Korea, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Latvia. In all, drugs belonging to the Chiesi Group reached worldwide production of 92,5 million units in 2009.
“These results are fruit of the endeavors by all the people that work for the Group around the world. Thanks to their efforts, our growth was higher than for the pharma industry,” commented Alberto Chiesi, President and CEO of the company. “Our goal now is to continue on our development path so we can reach our established objectives, but also to continue to respect our values on the centrality of the client, on care for the people in the company, and on the capacity to innovate – these are the characteristics of our way of doing business.”
The overall quality of the company’s work in 2009 was confirmed by recent recognition for the Chiesi Group: the Research & Development Award, given by UK Trade & Investment for investment in research and development in the UK, particularly for opening the laboratory in Chippenham which is dedicated to research on technologies in drug administration; the Top Employers Italia 2010 for the quality of the professions available in the company; and inclusion among the finalists for the M&A Awards as a result of acquiring Cornerstone.
R&D work has increased in line with the development plans of new molecules and reached a total of 15,2% (€ 132,6 million, + 22% compared to 2008) on total sales. This amount is consistent with the objective of investing in innovation, and the company plans to maintain this trend in the future.
Many the results obtained: in the pre-clinical phase, three new chemical entities were created and selected for clinical development for the treatment of respiratory diseases. The neonatal pipeline was enriched by the drug, Nymusa™ (caffeine citrate), which is now indicated for the treatment of apnea in newborns as a result of drug registration through the centralized European procedure. The drug registration process work for Foster® has continued with the request for market authorization in 16 new countries. Furthermore, development plans have continued for new indications, new populations, and new pharmaceutical forms.
Regarding partnerships, there are several aspects of note, such as the agreement with the Israeli company, HTL, for the development of an innovative lipid emulsion for the parenteral nutrition of premature newborns. The agreement with the American company, Phenomix, for the drug registration development in Europe of dutogliptin, a DDP4 inhibitor to treat Type II diabetes, could open new opportunities for the Group in this important therapeutic area. Finally, the subsidiary company Holostem, a spinoff together with the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, has started registration development of therapies based on stem cells for pathologies such as corneal damage and epidermolysis bullosa.
The 17 patent requests filed by the Chiesi Group in 2009 are in addition to the 123 patents registered in the same year, a significant result which enriches the intellectual patrimony of the company.
Work on bringing about the Chiesi Research Center started in February and has continued to respect all the established construction deadlines. It is expected that in 2011, the move from the old laboratories will begin. The total cost foreseen for realizing the new building located in Parma and destined to hold 300 researchers is more than € 70 million.
There are 3.551 people currently working in Chiesi, 268 more than in 2008. This increase is as a result of consolidating Cornerstone personnel and the growth of operations worldwide, including new employees in Italy, the UK, Eastern Europe, Russia, and in the affiliates in the Netherlands, Turkey, and China.
In 2010, the Chiesi Group foresees double digit growth once again, with the possibility of further increases in sales of corporate products and significant development in the foreign affiliates.
Investments will remain significant, in the considerable assets dedicated to Research and Development, in the expansion of production lines, and in the completion of the new Parma Research Center.
For further information:
Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A.
Massimo Zaninelli, Corporate Communication Manager
Tel: 0039-0521-279084
e-mail: m.zaninelli(at)chiesigroup.com
Press Office
Cristina Depaoli
Tel: 0039-02-20241357
e-mail: c.depaoli(at)vrelations.it