Corporate Magazine 2012 - Boehringer Ingelheim

Business at Boehringer IngelheimIn the 2012 financial year, the Boehringer Ingelheimgroup of companies maintained its growth path despitethe challenging economic and political environment.A period of organic growth for the company started backin 2011, chiefly as a result of the approvals of the productspradaxa® and trajenta®, which were researchedand developed in-house. The positive trend continued in2012 with sales of EUR 14,691 million. At 11.5%, yearon-year(6.3% after adjustment for exchange rate effects)sales growth was stronger than that of the global pharmaceuticalsmarket, making Boehringer Ingelheim oneof the fastest-growing among the 20 leading pharmaceuticalcompanies. This growth was driven by the anticoagulantpradaxa®, launched in 2011, and the diabetesdrug trajenta® as well as established respiratory tractproducts spiriva® for chronic obstructive pulmonarydisease (COPD) and combivent® for COPD and asthma.These products all posted double-digit sales growth,thus making a key contribution to the increase in sales.Besides this positive business development, the changesin healthcare must be taken into account. Increasedcost pressure in healthcare systems has led politiciansand society to consider whether new drugs are affordablein the context of reduced health budgets, even ifthey are superior to conventional treatments. The companyfelt the effects of this development when launchingpradaxa® and trajenta®.As part of our corporate strategy, we are focusing ourbusiness activities on research, development and marketingof innovative medications. By concentrating onour strengths in this way, we are laying the foundationsfor continuous organic growth. In areas where we requirenew expertise, or if meaningful market opportunitiesarise, Boehringer Ingelheim will also evaluate opportunitiesfor external growth.Since the last financial year, Boehringer Ingelheim’s operatingactivities have been divided into Human Pharmaceuticals,Biopharmaceuticals and Animal Health.The new Biopharmaceuticals business unit consists ofthe contract manufacturing business, biosimilars and researchand development of new biological active ingredients.The contract manufacturing business has beengiven its own identity with the brand name BoehringerIngelheim BioXcellence.By establishing of a global shared service centre in Ingelheimwe are putting focus on globalising and standardisingcontents, processes and systems to help the companyto achieve greater efficiency and flexibility worldwide.The situation at our US subsidiary Ben Venue Laboratories,Inc. again had a negative impact on our business in2012. After what we regard as a necessary suspension ofproduction in November 2011, extensive renovation andcorrective actions were required in the last financial year.In January 2013 we have voluntarily entered into a ConsentDegree (CD) with the US Food and Drug Administration(FDA) . Under this CD Ben Venue Laboratories,Inc. has the right to continue to manufacture and sellmore than 100 products. Ben Venue Laboratories, Inc.will be fully focused on the company’s own genericsbusiness in future. The contract manufacturing that iscurrently still being carried out at the location will betransferred to other manufacturers in a transfer processlasting several years.Efficiency enhancements and essential rationalisationmeasures remain the focal point in order to ensure thatthe group of companies remains competitive in an environmentmade increasingly tough by growing cost pressurein the healthcare systems. In connection with this,cost-reduction initiatives have been launched. They hada short-term negative impact on income in 2012.In the 2012 financial year, Boehringer Ingelheim’s salesdeveloped positively in all three regions (Americas, Europeand Asia/Australasia/Africa). The Americas regiongenerated sales of EUR 6,905 million, up 13.4% on theprevious year. With around 47% of our total sales, theAmericas region remained Boehringer Ingelheim’s mostimportant sales market. The Asia/Australasia/Africa regionagain posted the strongest growth, at 17.9%. With22Boehringer Ingelheim annual report 2012