Special IBSA around the world: Europe
IBSA’s recipe for success in Europe: enter the market using local distributors, grow and then consolidate its presence by opening national subsidiaries. This strategy has led the company to open 12 subsidiaries across the continent in just a few years. That’s not all: two new companies are due to open soon, in Germany and the UK. Where there are no subsidiaries, distributors come into play, enabling the company to reach every corner of the continent, with a particular focus on the Netherlands, Eastern Europe (Serbia, North Macedonia and Bulgaria), Greece and Cyprus.
Here’s the list of subsidiaries currently operating in Europe:
- IBSA Austria
- IBSA France
- IBSA Iberica: Instituto Bioquímico Ibérico IBSA, SL
- IBSA Italia: IBSA Farmaceutici Italia Srl
- IBSA Nordic: IBSA Nordic ApS in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden
- IBSA Poland: IBSA Poland sp. z o.o.
- IBSA Czech Republic: IBSA PHARMA s.r.o.
- IBSA Russia
- IBSA Slovakia: IBSA Slovakia s.r.o.
- IBSA Switzerland: IBSA Institut Biochimique SA
- IBSA Turkey: IBSA İlaç San. ve Tic. Ltd. Şti.
- IBSA Hungary: IBSA Pharma Kft.
The variety of products has also contributed to the company’s growth. In European countries such as Italy, France, Switzerland and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary), all of IBSA’s 10 therapeutic areas are represented.
The rapid growth is also linked to EU legislation, which lays down common registration procedures that facilitate the dissemination of products. The Decentralised Procedure (DCP) allows pharmaceutical companies to obtain simultaneous authorisation of a medicinal product in more than one EU Member State, if the medicinal product has not yet been authorised in any EU countries (in which case, reference should be made to the mutual recognition procedure) and is not covered by the centralised procedure, which is mandatory in certain cases.
The company has also confirmed its strategy for the future. In this interview, Silvio Dionisi, Head of Strategic Marketing at IBSA Group, reiterates the importance of developing subsidiaries. Alessandro Sardeni, the Group’s Head of Administration, Control and Finance, is of the same opinion. He explains that the company intends to consolidate a ‘star’ structure, whereby the centre, represented by the headquarters in Lugano, plays a supporting and coordinating role for the activities of the regional subsidiaries (read the interview at this link).
The medium-term objectives for IBSA are therefore to open new subsidiaries and acquire new affiliates, in order to become even more deeply rooted in markets where it has an existing presence, and to reach new ones. A robust growth plan is also planned, to consolidate existing subsidiaries.