Continuing the impact of our products for generations to come

Chairman and CEO's introduction

Since I founded Octapharma in 1983, the company has grown into a truly global group. Today we have more than 9,300 employees serving patients in 118 countries. In 2019, we achieved revenues of €2.2 billion and pre-tax profits of €428 million, each representing a growth of more than 23% over 2018.

In this year’s Annual Report, we speak to patients whose lives are being impacted by our products. The stories of young Sebaga from Botswana, Arne from Germany, and Nicholas and Laurel from the USA are incredibly inspiring for everyone at Octapharma. They remind us of the tremendous impact that we have on many thousands of patients all around the world.

Stories such as Sebaga’s remind us of our vision, which is to provide new health solutions advancing human life. Our ability to deliver treatments in all three of our therapeutic areas – haematology, immunotherapy and critical care – is one of the many reasons I am proud of our company and our performance during the year.

In 2019, we achieved good growth in all three therapeutic areas. We continued to invest significantly in R&D to fund the discovery and development of new life-changing treatments.

However, the journey of a new product to regulatory approval is one that requires incredible teamwork throughout our organisation. This teamwork is evident in the stories in this year’s report highlighting the development of our fibrinogen concentrate, fibryga®, as well as the interview with our colleagues from Octapharma Plasma, Inc., explaining everything that goes into opening a new plasma donation centre in the USA.

In 2019, we received important regulatory approvals and label extensions. Our new subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg), cutaquig®, received approval in Europe following approvals in 2018 in the USA and Canada. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved an updated label for our recombinant factor VIII (FVIII), Nuwiq®, that includes data on effective bleed protection with twice-weekly dosing using personalised prophylaxis.

Fibryga® received European approval to treat acquired fibrinogen deficiencies, extending the earlier approval for use in patients with congenital fibrinogen deficiency. This represents a major milestone for bleeding management for patients in critical care settings.

During 2019, we invested heavily in our plasma collection capacities to ensure the future supplies of our life-saving products for patients. Now we operate more than 120 plasma donation centres across our fleet in Germany and the USA.

Beyond our core values – ownership, integrity, leadership, sustainability and entrepreneurship – we aspire to create a culture in which our employees feel inspired. We work today on what our patients need tomorrow, and I would like to thank everyone for their dedication and teamwork.

As I contemplate the year ahead, I believe that Octapharma is well positioned to master our future challenges. I look forward to another great year of advancing patients’ lives together.

Wolfgang Marguerre
Chairman and CEO, Octapharma Group