Alberto Martínez, President & CEO, Mundipharma • Interview
Mundipharma will continue to focus on the two key elements of partnership and innovation to drive growth.
Can you give us an overview of Mundipharma?
Mundipharma is a mid-sized, fully integrated pharmaceutical company whose purpose is to move medicine forward. It is privately owned, and the network has a presence in well over 120 countries worldwide, employing thousands of people, 2,000 of them in Europe. Mundipharma has managed to grow over the years by delivering commercial excellence with a diversified portfolio that has been accessed through strategic partnerships with other companies in areas like biosimilars, respiratory diseases, and diabetes. Today, Mundipharma in Europe is a leader in the commercialization of biosimilars and is a reference commercial partner in specialist driven primary care. In 2015, we launched infliximab, the first monoclonal antibody biosimilar. In 2018, sales of our biosimilars had grown in excess of EUR350 million, and we are proud to have contributed to saving healthcare systems more than EUR800 million over that period. Moreover, it is particularly fulfilling and fitting with our purpose that these biosimilars allow thousands of patients to have access to innovative biologic treatments that were not accessible to them for costs reasons. Through its commercial partnership with Celltrion, Mundipharma is today the European biosimilar market leader with infliximab, rituximab, and trastuzumab, and our recent acquisition of Cinfa Biotech has enabled our successful expansion into development and commercialization across Europe. Similarly, our strategic partnerships with Janssen and Vectura in diabetes and respiratory recognize our ability to tailor our market access and commercial propositions to every market in order to deliver a competitive performance in a complex primary care environment.
Can you tell us more about your business model?
Our business model is based upon three key pillars: innovation, commercial excellence, and partnerships. In terms of innovation, the company is focused on medicines that can bring real value to patients and healthcare providers and assets that we can be proud of developing and commercializing. In terms of commercial excellence, as a specialty company we have the local understanding of our customers’ needs and the footprint and capabilities that enables us to move quickly, adapt, and establish our commercial platforms in new markets. This agility provides a competitive advantage, allowing us to execute competitively and cost effectively, as we have recently proven in biosimilars and diabetes. And both innovation and commercial excellence can only happen through fostering strong partnerships: partnerships with other pharmaceutical and biotech companies that see in Mundipharma their partner in development or commercialization of innovative assets; partnerships with our customers, healthcare professionals, and healthcare providers that entrust Mundipharma’s professionalism and commitment to move medicine forward together; and partnerships internally within the organization and with our shareholders so that we truly operate as one, with clear direction and focus. Our ambition is to continue to grow with a portfolio of innovative assets through in-licensing and co-development. We invest a great deal in human capital development to create a high-performing and learning environment for everyone in the organization, and this continues to be recognized by our employees. We have received Great Place to Work awards across Europe. Mundipharma is a great place to grow for high-performing individuals who want to take ownership, demonstrate accountability, and make a real impact on the business to move medicine forward.
How do you assess the attractiveness of the Spanish pharmaceutical industry for foreign investors?
Spain is already one of the major suppliers of high-quality medicines in Europe, and Brexit provides an opportunity for Spanish manufacturing operations to step up in this area. Mundipharma recognized this excellence by acquiring Cinfa Biotech in 2018, and in the past few months we have strengthened our partnerships with ROVI and 3P to launch a pegfilgrastim biosimilar fully developed in Spain across Europe. Our partnership with ESTEVE in the development of new molecules to target novel pain receptors is also testament to our belief in the potential of the Spanish pharmaceutical industry. ✖