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As the largest life science company in Funen, we want to create an even stronger foothold for the industry in Funen, which is currently home to over 40 companies in the life science sector.   Therefore, we have joined forces with a number of other Funen life science companies in the association Life Science Funen, where Andreas Søderman, who is the head of Medical Affairs at Orifarm, is a member of the board.  Since our humble beginnings in 1994, Orifarm has grown rapidly and we now employ 2300 employees, of which about 700 work in Odense. To fulfill our ambition for continued growth, it is crucial to be able to attract strong competencies to our employee group.  “Our employees are our most important resource to be able to fulfill our ambitions for the future. Denmark generally has a strong position in pharma and the industry is in continued growth. We constantly need qualified employees. This applies of course to the health sector, but also within other areas such as IT and the commercial area. The joint collaboration in Life Science Funen can help to strengthen the overall life science ecosystem in Funen, thereby assisting in the development and attraction of strong competencies,” says Torsten Laen, Director, People Attraction & Development.  “The collaboration between public and private actors is important to be able to strengthen the life science area. With our location in Odense, we have a good starting point - we are centrally located and have a good collaboration with strong, local actors, including educational institutions and teaching hospitals,” says Torsten Laen.  You can read more about Life Science Funen in this article, in which Andreas Søderman elaborates on the need for competent candidates for the industry (In Danish). 

As one of Europe's major pharmaceutical importers, we are delighted to receive this recognition as part of the Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Awards 2023. Our goal is to make medicines more affordable and accessible to everyone.  To achieve this, we engage in parallel importing, a process where we import original pharmaceuticals from one country, repackage, relabel, and then sell them in another country. This allows us to offer these products at more affordable prices compared to the originals. Parallel imported medicine is the exact same as the original, but in a new package with information leaflets in the patients’ local language.  Through parallel import, we strive to enhance the accessibility and affordability of vital pharmaceuticals for the patients that need them, while also reducing the expense for the public healthcare systems.   We are happy to receive the Best Imported Pharmaceuticals Supplier in Europe 2023 award for our efforts, as recognized by the Global Health & Pharma Magazine in the UK. 

While it is common to meet pharmacists at your local pharmacy, they also play a key role in pharmaceutical companies like Orifarm. Pharmacists are experts in medicine and bring specialized knowledge to ensure the quality and compliance of pharmaceutical products. At Orifarm, pharmacists are appointed in various steps of our distribution process, ensuring that certificates, authorizations and other information is accurate. Pia Andkjær is a Regulatory Affairs Specialist at Orifarm, and as an educated pharmacist she brings relevant pharmaceutical knowledge to her role. Together with her team, Pia is responsible for submitting applications to the local authorities, ensuring that the our products meet the highest standards. Her knowledge and experience with working at a pharmacy brings valuable perspectives into her daily work at Orifarm: “Though being a pharmacist is not a requirement for working as a Regulatory Affairs Specialist, my pharmaceutical background ensures that I understand the content that I work with. Having worked at a pharmacy, I can also see things from the patients’ perspectives, which is crucial in our pursuit of creating healthy days for as many as possible,” says Regulatory Affairs Specialist Pia Andkjær.Pharmacists like Pia are imperative in our work as a pharmaceutical company, and we are proud to have them on our team.

Orifarm is one of the largest employers in the area around Łyszkowice, Poland, and is very closely tied to life in the local community. With our significant role, it is especially important to us that we are present and interact with the community around us. We always prioritize and enjoy inviting members of the community to learn more about Orifarm and the medicines we proudly provide to patients throughout Europe.    Yesterday, we had the pleasure of hosting a group of over 20 people from the municipality’s Senior Club, introducing them to Orifarm and giving a guided tour around our facilities. The group visited our production area, administration, and warehouse with great enthusiasm and listening very carefully through the entire tour.   The Łyszkowice manufacturing plant has been operating for several decades. In fact, 14 of the Senior Club’s 40 members are former employees at the plant, so for some the visit was also a joyous reunion. 

In a year of macroeconomic challenges and a focus on the continued transformation of Orifarm, the family-owned pharmaceutical company realizes increased revenue and improved operating results in 2022. Highlights from the 2022 accounts: Revenue increased by 7% to €1,513m, which is a new record for Orifarm.  Growth was driven by both business units, Health Access with 3% and Healthcare with 22%. Healthcare's growth, however, was positively affected by the fact that sales from acquired Takeda products only contributed to nine months of 2021 against all 12 months in 2022. Gross profit increased by 22% to a new record of €223.9m. The result for the year ended at €27.4m, which is lower than expected. This is due to one-off costs in connection with the closure of the Viminco factory in Skælskør, Denmark, as well as derived consequences of delivery issues, especially in the second half of 2022. Continued significant investments to strengthen Orifarm for future growth. Investments increased in 2022 by 35% to €26.2m, which brings the total investments in the past three fiscal years to around €65m. The number of employees increased by 9% to 2,136 employees compared to the previous year (average number of full-time employees). CEO Erik Sandberg, Orifarm Group A/S, comments on the result for 2022:  "We are once again increasing turnover with growth in both of our core businesses. Regrettably, our result after tax is unfortunately lower than expected. This is due to one-off costs in connection with closing our factory in Skælskør, Denmark, but unfortunately also the derived consequences of delivery problems. Externally, increased interest rates have also affected the result negatively.” In many ways, 2022 has been an unusual year for Orifarm, as the group has been focusing on completing the integration of over 110 products and two factories, which it took over in connection with the carve-out acquisition from Takeda in 2021. Orifarm completed the acquisition on 1 May 2022. "A carve-out acquisition is a huge exercise, which has also brought challenges for us. What frustrates me the most is that it has also brought about delivery problems, especially in the second half of 2022, with the problems it brings for customers and patients. We have put everything into getting it resolved, and I am happy to state that we are on the right track," says Erik Sandberg and at the same time sends his thanks to the employees. “I would like to extend my appreciation to all of our many dedicated colleagues for their great continued efforts in providing medicine to customers and patients, and at the same time taking part in the transformation of Orifarm,” says Erik Sandberg. Expectations for 2023  In 2023, Orifarm expects to continue the transformation of the business, as part of the execution of the company's growth strategy. "We are in a volatile time why it is difficult to predict the macroeconomic development, e.g., the interest rates, which necessitates that we remain agile and navigate in relation to the opportunities that arise. We continue to invest in building a more scalable business that enables us to integrate potential future acquisitions even better," says Erik Sandberg. 

Orifarm has established a broad system to ensure the best possible onboarding to its more than 900 new employees to make everyone feel as welcome as possible from the first time they enter Orifarm. In this way, Orifarm aims to create a mutual foundation and an even more united organisation among its now 2,200 employees in 13 countries.  The past year, Orifarm, the large pharmaceutical company from Funen, has welcomed more than 900 new employees. To integrate all into the Orifarm family, the number of introduction programs has increased. Birgitte Ladefoged, Chief Human Resources Officer, explains that Orifarm’s onboarding process helps to remain the corporate culture and the special Orifarm DNA. “It is a solid stepping stone when you join Orifarm as a new employee. Both employees, leaders and also the owners themselves, Birgitte and Hans Bøgh-Sørensen, prioritise our onboarding program,” Birgitte says and continues: “It is a huge strength that the Orifarm story continuously is being told by the owners.”Birgitte also mentions Orifarm’s feedback culture which definitely is observed in the onboarding process: “We ask for feedback after each general introduction programme and based on the comments, the programmes are regularly adjusted. With it, we challenge status quo,” she says. When a newcomer joins a department in Orifarm, one will be introduced to colleagues and relevant stakeholders. Parallel with the onboarding process within the department, the new employee will take part in the organisation’s formal onboarding process which consists of several elements. With a buddy program, a general introduction programme and a welcome session by Orifarm’s owners, Birgitte and Hans Bøgh-Sørensen, the company aims to onboard its new employees in the best possible way. Looking back on the onboarding in 2021, evaluations of Orifarm’s introduction programmes indicated how their newcomers truly value the effort that is put into welcoming all our new colleagues. Patrik Krog Christensen, S&OP Partner Trade, joined Orifarm in September, 2021, and has recently experienced the Orifarm’s onboarding process: Unluckily, at Patrik’s first day in Orifarm, he became stuck in a tailback. Even though he had left his home in Vejle in good time, he was half an hour late. However, his leader and colleagues was by no means bothered by his delay. He was met at the parking space and followed to the office where they welcomed him with breakfast. “From the beginning, the spirit was very warm and friendly. I felt very welcome,” Patrik says. Josefine Toftdal joined Orifarm in 2021 as a Sales Executive Assistant and she explains that she has never heard of such an intensive introduction programme before. Patrik agrees: “This onboarding is different to other onboarding processes I have experienced. You are not just thrown to the lions but instead, you are given the exact introduction you need to fulfil your job in the best possible way. It makes it unique.”

Major acquisition and organic growth drive strongest ever performance Danish healthcare company, Orifarm, can celebrate an excellent result for 2021. Continued success in the parallel imports business and the EUR 615 million acquisition of 110 healthcare brands from Japanese Takeda, including the Danish brands Pamol and Kodimagnyl, have driven up operating profits by close to 40%. For the family-owned pharmaceutical company, 2021 was the sixth consecutive year of top-line growth. Turnover rose 27% to DKK 10,54 billion (EUR 1,417 billion). Operating profit reached DKK 412.8 million (EUR 55.5 mill.) – 39% up on the previous financial year, despite the impact of DKK 183 million (EUR 25 million) in non-recurring costs due to the Takeda integration. A year of challenges CEO Erik Sandberg calls the results especially impressive for a year characterised by sourcing and supply chain constraints and increased price competition: “It is amazing that, regardless of a major commercial Takeda product introduction last year involving many European countries, we delivered our best performance ever in our parallel import business. I am very proud of the effort of our 2,200 employees.” The 2021 annual report also includes nine months with former Takeda brands since Odense-based Orifarm acquired 110 Takeda healthcare brands, including generics, vitamins and minerals by April 1, 2021. Better access to healthcare According to Erik Sandberg, the more diverse product range gives the company a robustness and resilience that makes it better positioned to achieve its ambition – to make affordable, high-quality healthcare as widely accessible as possible. “Our one-stop-shop, with more than 5,000 pharmaceuticals, vitamins and minerals on our shelves, represents a strong combined offering to our customers, including pharmacies, consumers, hospitals and wholesalers. The Takeda integration has taken us to a new level of opportunities and is the latest chapter in Orifarm’s 27-year growth journey,” he says. In 2022, Orifarm expects revenue growth of 5% to 10% and operating profit growth in the 10% to 20% range, as the full effect of the newly acquired product portfolio kicks in.

Orifarm wants to be even more competitive in its 13 countries. For this reason, the Danish pharmaceutical company has, among other things, analyzed the possibilities for its production in Denmark. “We can succeed if we have a clear competitive advantage in scale, portfolio or unique capacities that together give our customers and patients the best opportunities . We have analyzed nine separate criteria, including CSR, quality, delivery reliability, cost, capacity, short- and long-term investment needs, production capacity and product portfolio. As a result of this review and in order to strengthen our product portfolio, maintain our competitiveness and deliver reliable supply, we have decided to transfer our products, manufactured in our Viminco site in Skælskør, Denmark, to our Hobro site, also in Denmark,” Erik Sandberg, CEO in Orifarm, says. Orifarm will now have one large production unit in Denmark instead of two small units. Orifarm also has production in Poland. “This means that we are expanding in Hobro, while we unfortunately will have to close our good production in Skælskør. The latter we will do during the next year and a half in a proper way in collaboration with the 130 skilled employees in Skælskør,” says Erik Sandberg. He underlines that it has been a very difficult decision because the managers and employees of Viminco have all done an excellent job for Orifarm for many years.

A large number of pharmaceutical companies from 23 countries in Europe are donating medical aid to Ukraine's needy people by means of the large Danish pharmaceutical company, Orifarm. This is organized through the non-profit organisation Affordable Medicines Europe, headquartered in Brussels, and the medical aid, which comprises many different products, contains everything from insulin and morphine to over-the-counter painkilling medicines.The CEO of Affordable Medicines Europe, Kasper Ernest, is very satisfied with the great support amongst the 100 member companies to donate medicine to Ukraine."We feel great support among the companies for this important, humanitarian effort, and it is a wide range of medical products that we are able to deliver already now. We are in contact with the Ukrainian health authorities about their needs, and the mayor of Gdansk has made sure that a number of Polish trucks will bring medicine to Ukraine from Orifarm's Czech facilities outside Prague,” Kasper Ernest says.He adds that the European Commission has also approved that Affordable Medicines Europe will have the option of sending medicines from companies in the UK to Ukraine via the Czech Republic.Orifarm, which is headquartered in Odense, Denmark, is going to receive all the medicine from the organization's member companies, and CEO in Orifarm, Erik Sandberg, is pleased that the company's Czech facility will be able to receive and distribute the many products fast."There is a great need for medicine in Ukraine, and it is important to help if you have the opportunity. We have a very efficient logistics center in the Czech Republic, where management and employees have immediately assumed the task of receiving the large amount of medicine soon coming in from many companies throughout Europe. From there it will be shipped to Ukraine as soon as possible. In addition, Orifarm will donate a large number of products ourselves to the Ukrainian people,” says Erik Sandberg.