NEW YORK, June 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Grunenthal Group, a leader in pain therapeutics headquartered in Aachen, Germany, presented today at the Jefferies 2012 Global Healthcare Conference in New York. Grunenthal CEO Harald F. Stock, Ph.D., said at the meeting that the company expects to continue to expand its market share through both organic, focused growth in its pain medication portfolio and targeted acquisitions, particularly in Latin America in line with its transformational long-term strategy, VISION 2020.
Grunenthal started to transform its business in 2009, realizing sustainable efficiency gains in production and administration, as well as divesting most of its non-core businesses, focusing on the most attractive segments of the global market for pain treatments. This strategy led to a 9 percent growth in the company's core business and a strong profitability increase in the first quarter of 2012. This significantly above overall pharmaceutical market growth is driven by the group's global pain brands contributing already 62 percent of that total compared to 53 percent in 2008. The divestments also created a significant liquidity position, which together with a syndicate loan building a solid basis for future acquisitions. Stock said at the Jefferies Conference that Grunenthal is now ready to move into the third phase of its VISION 2020 plan: Accelerated company-wide organic growth and the intent to realize licensing deals and acquisitions in Latin America, with a primary focus on Brazil and Mexico.
Stock also re-emphasized at the meeting that innovation is the core of Grunenthal's growth strategy, with research and development investments totaling 25 percent of revenues. This focus on innovation enabled its newest pain treatments, all on the market for fewer than five years, to already contribute one-third of the company's total revenues from its pain business.
In the coming two years, Grunenthal plans to further complete the European and Latin American launch of the new analgesic Palexia. The company in 2012 will focus on the new immediate-release technology for its INTAC formulation, and further expand partnerships with leading companies in that space. These strategic measures, core of the long-term strategy VISION 2020, are aimed at sustaining independence as a family-owned innovative company.
About Grunenthal
The Grunenthal Group is an independent, family-owned, international research-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Aachen, Germany. Building on its unique position in pain, its objective is to become the most patient-centric company and thus to be a leader in therapy innovation. Grunenthal is one of the last five research-oriented pharmaceutical corporations with headquarters in Germany which sustainably invests in research and development. These investments amounted to about 25 percent of revenues in 2011. Grunenthal's research and development strategy concentrates on select fields of therapy and state-of-the-art technologies. We focus on the intensive search for new ways to treat pain better, more effectively and with fewer side-effects than before. Altogether, the Grunenthal Group has affiliates in 26 countries worldwide. Grunenthal products are sold in more than 155 countries and today approximately 4,200 employees are working for the Grunenthal Group worldwide. In 2011, Grunenthal achieved revenues of euro 947 mn.
Contact: Frank Schoenrock, Vice President Corporate Communications Tel.: +49 241 569-1568, Fax: +49 241 569-3539, frank.schoenrock@grunenthal.com Grunenthal GmbH, 52099 Aachen, Germany, www.grunenthal.com
SOURCE The Grunenthal Group
