IBSA from 2000 to today: a successful entrepreneurial story (part 2)

“We could say that we are in a moment marked by two important phases: dawn, which is the continuous development of promising realities capable of strengthening the image and presence of IBSA in the international scenario; and maturity, which corresponds to the important goals achieved, the actions undertaken and the successes that – thanks to them – we have achieved. But even more important is the trust that we feel growing around us and that drives us to continue on this path with renewed energy and enthusiasm”.

Arturo Licenziati, President & CEO

We have reached the second appointment with IBSA’s history. In the first episode, we concentrated on the first 15 years – 1985 to 2000; now we focus on the strong development and consolidation of the company on a global level.

From 2000 onwards, IBSA began to establish itself for its modernity and competitiveness, for its innovation, for a solid and reliable reputation. It started take on the look of what it is today: a company with a clear and distinctive business approach, which knows how to look beyond the market and beyond care. Because it looks, first of all, at the Person.

“IF THAT’S THE PROJECT, WE MUST GO THERE”

Energy, enthusiasm and determination are perhaps the words that best explain the unstoppable growth that has characterised IBSA from the beginning of 2000 to the present day.

“If that’s the project, we must go there”, always says Arturo Licenziati, with those pragmatism and concreteness of his that he has been able to transmit to all his collaborators. Indeed, over the last twenty years a surprising transformation occurred that changed the face of the company: new factories and production plants in Switzerland, Italy and China, specialised know-how and expertise, increasing hiring of well-trained and motivated collaborators, development of cutting-edge technologies and new, increasingly more innovative pharmaceutical forms.

Particularly important is the partnership established with Altergon Italia, a company based in Morra De Sanctis (Avellino, Italy), which – thanks to significant investments – ensured the IBSA Group the supply of innovative and high-quality products, such as transdermal patches and the active ingredient hyaluronic acid, products that have proven to be successful in all the markets where IBSA has a footprint.

From the production of freeze-dried products to patches, from hyaluronic acid to soft capsules, IBSA has not set itself any limits in expanding its production capacity, while adapting to international procedures and regulations. This attention led the company to penetrate even the most demanding markets and obtain in 2006 the first North American Marketing Authorisation of a new thyroid drug, followed in 2009 by the introduction in the US of medicated plasters for muscle and intra-articular pain and another drug for hypothyroidism.

And with the increase in the number of commercialised products, export countries and registered patents, the company’s turnover also increased, growing exponentially over the years.

CARING INNOVATION: COMMON CARE AND WELL-BEING

From 2000 to today, the increase in development and production capacity went hand in hand with a continuous expansion worldwide, which is still on-going. IBSA’s position at international level has been established and consolidated, entering European and non-European markets through its subsidiaries: in this period, Slovakia and Turkey also joined the “IBSA family” – which already had subsidiaries in Hungary and China – followed by the official birth of IBSA Italia in 2010 and then by Poland, the Scandinavian countries, the United States, Spain, the Czech Republic, up to the most recent subsidiaries in France, Austria, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

In each country, IBSA has realised its Caring Innovation payoff, that best expresses one of the Group’s major ethical responsibilities, namely the commitment to continually renew itself to make an ever greater contribution to personal care and the common well-being: a far-reaching vision for the human being, as well as a sensitivity to change and innovation, as an indispensable drive towards the future of care. Guiding the path, like a compass, are the founding pillars of the company: Person, Innovation, Quality, Responsibility.

For Antonio Melli – one of the protagonists in the history of the company and close collaborator of Arturo Licenziati since 1986, initially as Chief Financial Officer and from 2021 Vice President of the Group – these principles become tangible when thinking of IBSA’s very idea of ​​care and health: “We interpret the real needs of patients, giving centrality to the Person – who is always the origin and conclusion of every activity – while respecting the specificity of the individual, in order to offer therapeutic solutions in the best possible form, getting closer and closer to the daily needs, with the aim of having a positive impact on people’s lives”.

THE FOUNDATIONS AND THE SUPPORT TO THE COMMUNITY

IBSA’s attention to the Person turns into attention to its collaborators, to the local community, to the young generations, to the whole community. It becomes a new commitment that looks at everyone’s health and well-being, starting with those who are the first to commit themselves every day to make those pillars concrete: collaborators. This is how the first decade of 2000 ended with the redesign and expansion of the Collina d’Oro Headquarters, in particular the common areas and offices, designed to offer well-being and comfort; 2009 is also the year of birth of the IBSA for Children Foundation: among the new spaces designed within the company, in fact, there is also “Primi Passi”, the first private company nursery to be introduced in Ticino, another sign of IBSA’s desire to support its People in a real and tangible way.

The year 2012 also marks another important milestone: the establishment of the IBSA Foundation for scientific research, which becomes the pillar and the main promoter of the Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility activities. IBSA Foundation does not just intend to support research and scientific dissemination tout court, in an authoritative and accessible way, but aims to go beyond the concept of therapy, well aware that other factors and experiences – such as participation in cultural and artistic activities – bring significant benefits to the person and contribute positively to the treatment pathway.

SUSTAINABILITY: IBSA’S FUTURE

The path that IBSA has chosen for its future is that of sustainability integrated in the social, environmental and economic dimension. Since 2015, this commitment has been put down in writing, with the periodic publication of the first Sustainability Report. In 2021, IBSA made public its third report, which made clear the company’s desire to be present not only in the therapeutic field, but also and above all as a promoter of well-being and innovation.

From this awareness, in 2021 our concept IBSA - Close to you was born, the leitmotif of various projects embodying a spirit based on sharing, sustainability, innovation and beauty. The first project based on this philosophy was Cosmos, IBSA’s largest production plant, located in the CorPharma district: a structure marked by absolute modernity, where all materials have been chosen respecting sustainability criteria.

The path has been traced and, as always, IBSA will continue with determination and courage, accepting new challenges, in order to grow not only as a company, but also as an active part of the community, for its People.