GALENIKA: Success and Decades of Expertise

GALENIKA: Success and Decades of Expertise

Interview with Ricardo Vian Marques, CEO of Galenika: A Balance Between Tradition and the Future of Pharma

In a conversation with Ricardo Vian Marques, the CEO of Galenika, a pharmaceutical company that is celebrating 79 years of operation this year, we wanted to explore what balancing tradition and forward-looking orientation means for the company, why portfolio expansion is important, and how the future of pharmacy will benefit patients.

Ricardo Vian Marques CEO GAlenika

1. Galenika is celebrating 79 years in business and is well-known for its long-standing tradition. How challenging is it to balance tradition with a future-oriented approach?

This is an important year for Galenika, as we have taken some significant business steps. However, we’ve gone even further – this year’s anniversary has inspired us to reflect on the perseverance and expertise that have contributed to Galenika’s longevity.

We are highly focused on investments and expanding internationally into new export markets, while continuously ensuring quality, community care, and environmental responsibility. We invest in people and teams, safety, production, digitalization, and environmental protection. As a result, today we are a company that values diversity and offers opportunities. We’ve outperformed the market in many aspects.

Health and care for people are at the top of the company’s priorities. As a team, we have a vision to reach new heights with uncompromising quality, efficiency, and a focus on health today and in the future.

2. What do you consider your biggest achievements in 2024?

Expanding our portfolio strengthens the company’s market position and, most importantly, offers consumers a broad range of modern, effective, high-quality pharmaceutical products. Since the beginning of 2024, we have launched 50 products in Serbia, with significant expansion into regional and EU markets, launching 230 products.

Galenika’s prescription medicine segment is very strong, representing almost two-thirds of our total portfolio (65%). Over the past year, we have made significant progress: we strengthened our presence in neuropsychiatry with modern products that were previously missing in our market, as well as in oncology and cardiology therapy.

In the over-the-counter medicine and supplement segment, we focused on growth by offering modern solutions for consumers’ current needs. Dermocosmetics is one of the areas we have recognized, as well as dietary products.

Furthermore, last year, Galenika began a new investment cycle worth 35 million euros for the 2023-2025 period, with a special focus on further expanding state-of-the-art production capacities and environmental protection.

As always, in line with our development plans, we continue to invest in digitalization and the further development of production capacities, while expanding our business presence in international markets. After initially opening Galenika offices in Hungary, Croatia, and Slovenia, we are now present in Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Our expansion in the EU demonstrates the quality and relevance of our products. I am happy to say that Galenika operates in 25 international markets, with plans to open 10 more in Europe and the MENA region.

These achievements speak to the efforts invested and our pursuit of excellence in everything we do.

3. Galenika acquired the company Lifemedic last year and has since announced several new partnerships. How do these fit into Galenika’s business strategy?

Last year, we acquired the company Lifemedic in Serbia and began an exclusive distribution partnership with the Italian manufacturer Pharmalife Research, a trusted producer in the field of pediatric pharmaceutical products, dietary supplements, dermocosmetics, and phytotherapy. In the meantime, not only has the company integration process been completed, but we have also increased sales in the Serbian market.

This year, we continued to strategically expand our portfolio through a partnership and exclusive agreement with Cantabria Labs, one of Spain’s leading manufacturers of premium dermatological brands present in 85 markets worldwide. With this partnership, Galenika has secured exclusive distribution of Cantabria Labs brands for the markets of Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia, ensuring not only portfolio enrichment but also the highest quality standards and products that are leaders in their categories across Europe. We’ve seen excellent results in the first few months since the launch, which prove the correctness of our business decision and market assessment. All of this illustrates the importance of strategically expanding our portfolio.

These agreements enhance our capacity and competitiveness, while also contributing to overall quality, which is Galenika’s priority at all times.

4. Can you tell us more about the innovations in the pharmaceutical industry that you believe have significant potential for the future?

Technology is helping to accelerate pharmaceutical teams and the industry. We are already seeing a new wave of drugs with high relevance and effectiveness. Some of them include effective cancer therapies, which are crucial. Globally, there is a huge increase in interest in drugs that help patients with obesity treatment and diabetes management. These peptide-based drugs are something we are also very interested in, and together with the Brazilian NC Group, we have already initiated investments in this direction. We recognized the need, as well as our own capabilities and potential, mapped the process, and started the investment. It’s a long process, but we expect it to become a reality for Galenika and patients, hopefully next year. This expansion reflects our commitment to meeting the growing demand and strengthening our position in the peptide production industry.

Some of the advanced medical technologies of the future relate to cellular therapy for immune diseases, as well as RNA therapies, which we hope will be effective in treating previously incurable conditions. Another significant trend in the pharmaceutical industry is therapies that do not require regular use, making them more practical and with longer-lasting effects.

5. What do digitalization and artificial intelligence bring to the pharmaceutical industry and consumers?

The impact of digitalization and artificial intelligence is highly significant and will only grow. Pharmaceutical companies can enhance the value chain by accelerating drug development and market availability. This involves the dedicated and responsible adoption of artificial intelligence and analytics.

Artificial intelligence is already being used in various areas of the pharmaceutical industry – from research and development at every stage of molecule and drug design, to identifying patients for clinical trials, using big data to uncover previously unknown trends, and linking genes to disease, optimizing drugs in the manufacturing process, generating and managing documents, and improving overall efficiency and productivity. All of this contributes to exceptional results. Patients and healthcare systems are already seeing, and will continue to see, significant benefits.

The interview was published in the magazine and portal Nedeljnik on November 28, 2024.


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