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COMPANY HISTORY - Protina Pharmazeutische GmbH

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<strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong> Company and Product History 1<br />

<strong>COMPANY</strong> <strong>HISTORY</strong><br />

Over 100 years of<br />

experience with minerals<br />

Before you become immersed in the history of<br />

Klopfer-Nährmittelwerke, a foodstuff company<br />

rich in tradition, and later <strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong>,<br />

let us take a quick look at the present. With<br />

regard to our work with minerals like, for example,<br />

magnesium or sulphur, we look back on a<br />

century of experience. During this time, our<br />

products were adapted to the changed living<br />

conditions and now fulfill the current requirements<br />

placed on medicinal products suitable for<br />

patients and on useful food supplements.<br />

In our company, the orientation of activities<br />

towards the welfare of patients has a successful<br />

tradition:<br />

- The development of the optimal dosages of<br />

active substances.<br />

- The constant improvement of the tolerance of<br />

our products.<br />

- The most stringent quality control measures<br />

from the raw materials to the finished product.<br />

- An extensive information service for patients<br />

and specialist circles.<br />

These have all been as much an integral part of<br />

our business philosophy as is the careful utilization<br />

of natural resources. Our present and future<br />

efforts to offer up-to-date preparations combined<br />

with an informative product service will also<br />

continue to be the hallmarks of the subsequent<br />

history of our company.<br />

1900 - 1940<br />

In 1900, Dr. Volkmar Klopfer (1874 - 1943) – at<br />

that time, still a chemistry student – founded<br />

the foodstuff works that bears his name in<br />

Dresden-Leubnitz. He produced food products<br />

from grain using methods based on completely<br />

new scientific findings and thereby revolutionized<br />

the grain processing industry. He investigated<br />

the chemical components of cereals –<br />

especially minerals and protein.<br />

Easily digestible wholemeal bread and<br />

wholemeal flour<br />

In 1913 some time after obtaining a doctorate in<br />

chemistry, he produced wholemeal flour from<br />

rye. At that time, rye was known only as animal<br />

feed and was much less expensive than wheat.<br />

Dr. Klopfer obtained a patent for a process that<br />

makes wholemeal bread from wholemeal flour<br />

easily digestible and thereby greatly improves its<br />

nutritional value. When the railroad freight rates<br />

increased so greatly after the First World War<br />

that flour could not be economically transported<br />

more than 100 km, Dr. Klopfer developed the<br />

pure rye bran. Bran is considerably lighter than<br />

flour and can be marketed throughout the whole<br />

of Germany. Consumers mix the patented<br />

Klopfer Bran with white flour and obtain a fully<br />

adequate wholemeal flour.<br />

The chemical works was created<br />

The foodstuff works got into financial difficulties<br />

during the world economic crisis after the First<br />

World War and it was converted into a jointstock<br />

company by the creditor banks. Although<br />

Dr. Klopfer was appointed to be the director, he<br />

was dissatisfied with this job and in December<br />

1924, he founded a new company together with<br />

his longtime companion Martha Hadlich (1883 -<br />

1961): Chemische Werk Dr. Klopfer. The production<br />

now focused mainly on medicinal products<br />

with mineral active substances. The brands<br />

Glidine, Bryonon, Basica, Diasporal, and Schwefelbad<br />

Dr. Klopfer were already created during<br />

this period.<br />

As an entrepreneur, Dr. Klopfer translated his<br />

own social ideas into action; and as a scientist,<br />

he was one of the pioneers of the physiology of<br />

nutrition. Dr. Volkmar Klopfer died after a stroke<br />

in 1943 at the age of 69.<br />

<strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong> � Adalperostraße 37 � D-85737 Ismaning � Phone +49 (0)89-99 65 53 -0 � Fax +49 (0)89-96 34 46 � www.protina.de


<strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong> Company and Product History 2<br />

1940 untill today:<br />

<strong>Protina</strong> was born<br />

In 1942, the company <strong>Protina</strong> Chemische <strong>GmbH</strong><br />

was founded in Munich by Josef zur Hörst sen.<br />

and Dr. Franz Weilguny, Dr. Klopfer’s son-in-law.<br />

Its first product was Garmastan, a preparation<br />

for nursing mothers.<br />

After the plant was bombed one year later, the<br />

production of medicinal products was temporarily<br />

taken over until 1945 by Chemische Werk Dr.<br />

Klopfer in Dresden. In 1945, the reconstruction<br />

of <strong>Protina</strong> in Freising, Untere Hauptstraße 14,<br />

was accomplished by three partners: Dr. Robert<br />

von Werz M.D., the farmer Josef zur Hörst, and<br />

the engineer Dr. Franz Weilguny. In 1950, a<br />

second company, Vertriebsgesellschaft<br />

Chemisches Werk Dr. Klopfer mbH, was founded<br />

in Freising with Dr. Franz Weilguny as the managing<br />

director. This proved to be a fortunate<br />

decision after the end of the Second World War<br />

and the division of Germany because in this way<br />

all products and brands could be preserved in<br />

the West. In 1952, the companies moved into<br />

their own building in Munich-Moosach and a 30year<br />

buildup phase began.<br />

When new WHO requirements were placed on<br />

the production and monitoring of medicinal<br />

products at the end of the 80s, the <strong>Protina</strong> partners<br />

decided to build new modern production<br />

facilities in Ismaning just outside of Munich.<br />

Although everything seemed inordinately large at<br />

first, <strong>Protina</strong> had tripled its turnover within a few<br />

years, and so additional buildings soon had to be<br />

rented. During the following years, Klopfer and<br />

<strong>Protina</strong> merged more and more until Klopfer<br />

became a 100 % subsidiary of <strong>Protina</strong> in 1987.<br />

In 2002 there's expansion again: a new distribution<br />

and administration centre with a fully automatic<br />

warehouse is put into operation next door.<br />

Apart from modern production facilities which<br />

meet WHO standards, <strong>Protina</strong> has the most upto-date<br />

logistics facilities in Ismaning to help<br />

successfully meet the challenges of the future.<br />

Today as well, <strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong> and Klopfer<br />

Nährmittel Vertriebs <strong>GmbH</strong> stand for high-quality<br />

medicinal products, food supplement preparations,<br />

and cosmetics which are manufactured in<br />

accordance with the WHO (World Health Organization)<br />

guidelines in the companies' own production<br />

centres in Ismaning near Munich and are<br />

sold in Germany and 14 other countries.<br />

PRODUCT <strong>HISTORY</strong><br />

Basica:<br />

Magic potion of the German<br />

football champions of 1990<br />

Based on the theories of the nutritionist Ragnar<br />

Berg, Dr. Volkmar Klopfer developed Basica for<br />

deacidification and purification in the twenties.<br />

Berg's research was focused on the human mineral<br />

balance, and Dr. Klopfer dealt with the<br />

processing of minerals. Both were steadfast in<br />

their desire to serve the health and well-being of<br />

mankind. Together they achieved the great success:<br />

Basica.<br />

During the 1986 football World Cup in Mexico,<br />

the West German team relied on Basica and was<br />

runner-up. The breakthrough with regard to the<br />

popularity of Basica came four years later. The<br />

German team won the title at the 1990 football<br />

World Cup in Italy. The press referred to the<br />

"secret in yellow bottles". The contents corresponded<br />

to the modern product Basica Sport.<br />

Twenty basic minerals and trace elements in<br />

proportions similar to their natural occurrence in<br />

fruit and vegetables is the secret of Basica.<br />

Thousands of people, and since 1990 also many<br />

well-known top athletes, trust in Basica and<br />

have made Basica known far beyond the borders<br />

of Germany.<br />

Based on the knowledge of Ragnar Berg and Dr.<br />

Volkmar Klopfer, we can look back today on<br />

100 years of experience in the processing of<br />

minerals.<br />

Bryonon N:<br />

Grain as medicine<br />

Volkmar Klopfer occupied himself during the last<br />

few years of his life with vitamin research. For<br />

this purpose, he allowed a wide variety of plants<br />

to be grown on the company property.<br />

<strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong> � Adalperostraße 37 � D-85737 Ismaning � Phone +49 (0)89-99 65 53 -0 � Fax +49 (0)89-96 34 46 � www.protina.de


<strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong> Company and Product History 3<br />

One of the results is reflected in Bryonon N, a<br />

vitamin B preparation based on Klopfer's experience<br />

in the processing of cereals. Bryonon N<br />

drops with a refined formula have been distributed<br />

until 2002.<br />

Garmastan:<br />

Relief for nursing mothers<br />

Garmastan has existed since 1935. The product<br />

has a curious history. In a Swiss pig-breeding<br />

farm, sows bearing young contracted milk fever,<br />

an infectious udder inflammation. At first, the<br />

diseased pigs were treated with the milk serum<br />

from convalescent pigs. Successes were only<br />

achieved when the milk serum from diseased<br />

animals which were previously administered a<br />

plant preparation was used. The plant medicament<br />

contained anti-inflammatory essential oils.<br />

Today Garmastan, which first came on the market<br />

in 1958 as an ointment, contains the antiinflammatory<br />

oil of guaiazulene from the guaiac<br />

tree. Garmastan has been one of the drugs of<br />

choice for generations to prevent breast infections<br />

in nursing mothers.<br />

Glidine: Plant protein<br />

One of the first achievements of Nahrungsmittelwerk<br />

Dr. Klopfer in Dresden was the development<br />

of the protein concentrate Glidine from<br />

purely plant materials. It consisted exclusively of<br />

wheat protein.<br />

According to recent findings on essential amino<br />

acids, Glidine is now composed of wheat and<br />

soybean protein and, therefore, contains a useful<br />

combination of all amino acids which is particularly<br />

easily digestible and shows a high degree of<br />

biological usability. Glidine is therefore especially<br />

suitable as a food supplement for vegetarians,<br />

senior citizens, athletes, and all others who wish<br />

to dispense with meat<br />

Magnesium-Diasporal:<br />

Magnesium on the road to success<br />

The success story of Magnesium Diasporal began<br />

in 1954 when the injectable solution was<br />

put on the market followed by the lozenges in<br />

1956. Here too, <strong>Protina</strong> was ahead of its time;<br />

for the magnesium boom began almost 20 years<br />

later.<br />

Whereas the importance of other cations like<br />

potassium, calcium, and sodium had been wellknown<br />

for some time, it was only at the end of<br />

the sixties that magnesium was intensively investigated.<br />

In 1968, a Freiburg scientist recognized<br />

the biological function and therefore also<br />

the medical importance of magnesium.<br />

Magnesium is an essential mineral that influences<br />

numerous metabolic functions and cannot<br />

be formed by the body itself. Above all the functioning<br />

and performance of the muscles like, for<br />

example, the heart are supported by magnesium.<br />

By supplying an adequate amount of magnesium,<br />

therefore, typical symptoms of a magnesium<br />

deficiency like, for example, muscle<br />

spasms can be counteracted.<br />

Today <strong>Protina</strong> has more than 2000 scientific<br />

articles about magnesium at its disposal. <strong>Protina</strong><br />

achieved another milestone in 1971: Magnesium-Diasporal<br />

300 Granular Powder. A packet<br />

containing 300 mg of magnesium meets the<br />

WHO-recommended daily requirement - and that<br />

with a single administration and outstanding<br />

bioavailability. In comparison, you require 18<br />

bananas to meet this magnesium requirement.<br />

Schwefel-Diasporal: Sulphur<br />

against skin diseases<br />

Dr. Klopfer's scientific interest was always focused<br />

on minerals. His first developments in the<br />

chemical works were dedicated to the active<br />

substance sulphur.<br />

<strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong> � Adalperostraße 37 � D-85737 Ismaning � Phone +49 (0)89-99 65 53 -0 � Fax +49 (0)89-96 34 46 � www.protina.de


<strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong> Company and Product History 4<br />

At that time, Schwefel-Diasporal was produced<br />

for intravenous and intramuscular injection.<br />

Later, preparations for application to the skin<br />

against skin impurities and acne were developed;<br />

these still exist today: Schwefel-Diasporal Cream<br />

and Schwefel-Diasporal Solution.<br />

Since sulphur has also been traditionally used for<br />

the treatment of rheumatic complaints, Dr.<br />

Klopfer also developed a preparation for this area<br />

of application: Schwefelbad Dr. Klopfer. Schwefelbad<br />

Dr. Klopfer was first offered for sale in<br />

powder form, and now as a fragrant emulsion<br />

for use as a supportive balneological treatment<br />

of rheumatic symptoms.<br />

PERSONALITIES<br />

Dr. Volkmar Klopfer<br />

(1874 -1943)<br />

The resourceful Saxon<br />

Dresden is the cradle of today's <strong>Protina</strong> Pharm.<br />

<strong>GmbH</strong>. It was there where Dr. Volkmar Klopfer<br />

founded the Nahrungsmittelwerk Dr. Klopfer in<br />

1900 at the age of only 25. Later, he gained his<br />

doctorate in chemistry at the University of<br />

Rostock. His research led to his first patent on<br />

the "Separation of Wheat Flour into Starch and<br />

Protein".<br />

In his foodstuff works, he used the protein and<br />

mineral extracts obtained to increase the nutritional<br />

value of bread and noodles. A revolutionary<br />

finding: macaroni can be so enriched that it<br />

is as nourishing as meat.<br />

At about the same time, Dr. Klopfer developed<br />

the purely plant protein concentrate Glidine.<br />

Glidine contains all essential amino acids and is<br />

therefore an outstanding addition to the menu of<br />

vegetarians and elderly persons who often consume<br />

too little protein-containing food.<br />

As early as 1913, Dr. Klopfer recognized the<br />

importance of wholemeal rye flour. Until then,<br />

rye was only used as animal feed. At that time,<br />

wholemeal flour was produced from wheat<br />

which had to be imported at high cost. Following<br />

a patented method, Dr. Klopfer succeeded in<br />

processing the rye grain so carefully that fully<br />

adequate wholemeal flour was produced.<br />

Dr. Klopfer's view of social entrepreneurship<br />

was very modern. He financed a holiday home in<br />

the Erzgebirge for the workforce and gave every<br />

employee a small garden plot on the company<br />

property in order to improve the then poor nutritional<br />

situation of his employees.<br />

Ragnar Berg (1873- 1956)<br />

Developed Basica<br />

The pharmaceutical industrialist Carl August<br />

Lingner initiated both the famous Dresden Hygiene<br />

Museum (1930) and a research center for<br />

dental hygiene. The Swedish chemist and nutritionist,<br />

Ragnar Berg, worked there as the head<br />

of the chemical laboratory.<br />

Berg's scientific work always revolved around<br />

the mineral balance of the body and the diseases<br />

which occur as a result of a disturbed mineral<br />

balance. For his contributions, Columbia College<br />

in New York awarded him an honorary doctorate<br />

in 1931<br />

From 1934 until the end of the Second World<br />

War, he headed the nutrition physiology laboratory<br />

in the Dresden Johannstadt Hospital in<br />

which traditional medicine was combined with<br />

naturopathy. His research led to the idea for the<br />

mineral and trace element preparation Basica,<br />

which was developed by Dr. Volkmar Klopfer.<br />

Franz Gottfried Weilguny,<br />

The pharmacist and engineer<br />

(1900 - 1976)<br />

<strong>Protina</strong> founder<br />

Together with Josef zur Hörst (1901- 1974), Dr.<br />

Franz Weilguny founded the company <strong>Protina</strong><br />

Chemische <strong>GmbH</strong> in 1942 in Munich. After the<br />

plant was bombed a little later, he concentrated<br />

<strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong> � Adalperostraße 37 � D-85737 Ismaning � Phone +49 (0)89-99 65 53 -0 � Fax +49 (0)89-96 34 46 � www.protina.de


<strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong> Company and Product History 5<br />

in the following years up to 1945 on the reconstruction<br />

of <strong>Protina</strong> in Freising near Munich.<br />

Another company was founded in 1950:<br />

Klopfer-Nährmittel Vertriebsges. mbH. As a<br />

partner in and managing director of both companies,<br />

he played a major role in the preservation<br />

and further development of the Klopfer range of<br />

products<br />

Alexander Nestler,<br />

The chemist (1920 - 2000)<br />

Successful with sulphur and magnesium<br />

The chemist Alexander Nestler began his career<br />

at <strong>Protina</strong> in 1954 as the production and quality<br />

control manager. For over twenty years - from<br />

1964 until 1985 - he was closely connected<br />

with the important development phase of the<br />

company as a partner and managing director.<br />

By consistently expanding the range of sulphur<br />

preparations, <strong>Protina</strong> attained the position as the<br />

market leader in the sulphur segment. The development<br />

of the extensive range of magnesium<br />

products was also a result of his commitment<br />

Josef Kranzer,<br />

The businessman (*1942)<br />

Main emphasis on marketing<br />

Josef Kranzer began his career at <strong>Protina</strong> in<br />

1969 as a shareholder and managing director of<br />

Nährmittel Vertriebsges. m. b. H. A job which he<br />

held until 1987.<br />

From 1970 until 2001, Josef Kranzer was also<br />

the sales manager of <strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong>.<br />

Being in charge of the new building in Ismaning,<br />

he continued to play a major role in the development<br />

of the company.<br />

Dr. Thomas Nestler (*1948)<br />

The dedicated pharmacist<br />

Dr. Thomas Nestler joined the company in 1979<br />

and assumed several functions: as production<br />

and quality control manager as well as partner.<br />

Three years later in 1982, he and his partner<br />

implemented the plan for the construction and<br />

extension of the new production facilities in<br />

Ismaning. His main focus was on the building up<br />

of pharmaceutical production in accordance with<br />

GMP guidelines and, therefore, an innovative<br />

and ambitious production technology.<br />

In 1986, he took over the management of <strong>Protina</strong><br />

Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong> from his father Alexander<br />

Nestler. After taking over the management of<br />

Klopfer-Nährmittel Vertriebsges. mbH one year<br />

later, he assumed control of the fusion of the<br />

two companies with Klopfer-Nährmittel as a<br />

100% subsidiary of <strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong>.<br />

The over 4.5 million packs which have been sold<br />

in Germany attest to the success of his efforts<br />

to turn <strong>Protina</strong> into one of the market leaders in<br />

the magnesium and acid-base market.<br />

<strong>Protina</strong> Pharm. <strong>GmbH</strong> � Adalperostraße 37 � D-85737 Ismaning � Phone +49 (0)89-99 65 53 -0 � Fax +49 (0)89-96 34 46 � www.protina.de

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