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Pharmaceutical sector, a resource for the Region

laboratory anlysisBologna, 15th March, 2007 – A strategic sector for the development of the economy of Emilia Romagna, with a strong worldwide competitive hi-tech trend. This is the image of the pharmaceutical division in Emilia-Romagna that emerges from some sector studies by Farmindustria and from a research study at the Bocconi University in Milan. Emilia-Romagna is the fourth largest Region in Italy for pharmaceutical companies in operation, with 8 production sites, 5 research centres and 3,500 employees, of whom 350 are involved in research and development work. Ervet’s study “The aspects of excellence of the health industry in Emilia-Romagna” has investigated the whole sector, both production firms and those operating in marketing, identifying 136 local units, centred mainly in the provinces of Bologna and Parma, which are thus placed among the top ten Italian provinces for importance in the pharmaceutical sector.

The strong trend towards research is a distinctive feature: 7.3% of employees out of the total nationwide work in R&D and, in the five-year period 2000-2005, the region was the second largest in Italy for the number of clinical trials, over 1,396 carried out at 76 centres.

Thanks to research, pharmaceutical companies have become more and more specialised in hi-tech products, which puts Emilia-Romagna in fourth place in Italy for biotechnological products.

The substantial turnover of exports amounts to 450 million Euros, which has doubled from 2001 to date.

Among the outstanding companies are Chiesi Farmaceutici spa in Parma (production), Afm spa. in Bologna (marketing), Fatro in Ozzano dell’Emilia (Bologna) specialising in veterinary products.Chiesi operates in five continents with 21 direct branches, 3 production plants and 3 research centres, Afm specialises in marketing and administers 38 municipal pharmacies, mainly in the Bologna area. Afm is managed by Admenta Italia (that has a majority shareholding); the latter is the Italian holding company of the German company Celesio Ag, the European leader in retail and intermediary pharmaceutical distribution.

Fatro carries on production and commercial activities all over the world, has acquired, fully or in part, companies in the sector in Spain, Argentina and India, has built new production plants in Poland and markets its own products through companies distributing on the individual national markets (Fatro Intermed).