MINAFIN / MINAKEM
Challenging chemistry in pharmaceutical manufacturing
tarting with a fundamental dedication to fine chemical development, the Minafin Group was established in 2004 with a small team of devoted individuals who have gone onto build a true success story in the industry.
Initially the Group set out to solely produce fine chemicals for the pharmaceutical market, however, over the years it has expanded its efforts into cosmetics and high-tech applications to meet the ever-changing requirements it is faced with.
“The industry has changed dramatically in the 15 years that we have been in operation,” explains Frederic Gauchet, the founder and Group President of Minafin. “Our customers are continuously varying, and we need to be adaptable to meet their needs as quickly as possible, while matching the evolution of our customer base.
“In order to meet these needs, we have upped the qualifications and competencies of people available to make the entire process a success; our people care intensely about their role within the Company, but also their impact of their work on the environment and the communities which host our facilities.”
With its current rate of expansion, Minafin places vast amounts of trust in its staff coming from all over the world to carry out the extensive developments it is involved in.
“Our customer base covers both global and international companies and therefore we are dedicated to the expansion of our global standing through the development of our worldwide company network,” continues Gauchet. “We will always find the best and most efficient outcome for our customers, which is achieved through our selection of complementary and synergetic business units within the Group.”
Group network
As part of the Minafin Group, Minakem operates as a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), comparable to top-class companies in delivering services to the industry across its three manufacturing sites.
“We look specifically at servicing demand for high-potency active principles,” describes Thierry Van Nieuwenhove, Chief Executive Officer at Minakem. “Our three manufacturing sites specifically target these projects, with a launch facility that incorporates our excellent research and development (R&D) services to ensure we are able to successfully launch of the actives principles of branded drugs.
“We have also implemented solid- form labs that allow bespoke design of the solid active principle and is currently providing us with a unique selling point for the pharma factories within the market, therefore we are able to deliver something that many other companies are unable to.”
Alongside its extensive R&D work, the Company is focusing on continuous improvement in order to make sure that customer requirements are always met through its pharmaceutical developments.
Van Nieuwenhove adds: “Minakem provides one of the largest and most profitable segments within the wider Group and looks set to continue on as a major growth point.
“As part of the Minafin Group we are able to leverage an extensive network of knowledge to our advantage, while also enjoying the synergy that we have built to ensure exceptional service, innovation and continuous improvement for our customers at all times.”
Product classification
More recently Minakem has been investing heavily in new pipelines in order to support market growth, something that has been occurring at a rapid rate for the past two years in particular.
“Some of our most recent investments have been put in place to ensure that we have cemented a capacity to cope with the future demand put upon us by our customers,”
As part of the Minafin Group we are able to leverage an extensive network of knowledge to our advantage, while also enjoying the synergy that we have built to ensure exceptional service, innovation and continuous improvement for our customers at all times
explains Van Nieuwenhove. “One of our developments has been on chromatography for specific purification of high potent pharmaceutical ingredients, using approximately nine million euros of investment to cover it.
“This is also aiding us in ramping up the bar in terms of product classification; where we originally only had the capacity to handle class five products suitable for most of the anticancer drugs, we are now pushing for class six in which you find cytotoxin-based drugs.”
At one of the Company’s sites based in Dunkirk it has added a new line of manufacturing, using multipurpose manufacturing capabilities has enabled it to see rapid development on projects thanks to the investment of more than 14.5 million euros.
“We also recognise the importance of pursuing analytical support and have subsequently been investing a lot of time and money in that area,” continues Van Nieuwenhove. “In today’s market we have monitored our customers’ requests for the extension of support on the analytical side of our business, aiding them in fulfilling obligations with authorities in filing new drugs for commercialisation. We know that in a short space of time this will add significant value to both our portfolio and the ease with which our customers projects are carried out.”
Sourcing talent
When it comes to ensuring that the Company runs in a professional and unified manner, its people are one of the most important aspects.
“For us it starts with R&D, we aim to source the best talents while also finding those that will bring a unique perception to our business activities,” Van Nieuwenhove describes. “We focus on achieving a culturally diverse work place as a global entity, working on the continuation of establishing ourselves as a leader in the industry to aid us in attracting talent to our team.
“Recently we have been showing good progress in this area, while also increasing the available roles within our organisation. People want to
belong to a success story, and at the Minafin Group we hope to be viewed in that manner.”
With such an entrepreneurial spirit in both a fast and agile company, Minafin and its subsidiary Minakem also ensures that once it has attracted the right talent, the process doesn’t stop there.
Van Nieuwenhove adds: “Once people are on board we invest greatly in their training throughout the year, continuing to develop their talent.
“Due to the fast evolution of our business and work, we are having to tackle increasingly complex and
technical issue and therefore we are having to provide high-quality education in-house.”
Moving forward, as well as increasing its capabilities through training and development, it hopes to double its size within the next decade.
“We don’t just want to be one of those companies that is number one purely down to size,” concludes Van Nieuwenhove. “We will work to remain at the forefront of our customers minds, providing them with the best possible service while actively expanding our footprint all over the world.”