Nelson Pires

Jaba Recordati focuses on primary care and rare diseases, with plans to expand its influence in these areas through organic growth and partnerships with other companies.

Can you give us an overview of Jaba Recordati and the company’s business development goals in Portugal?

Jaba Recordati is an Italian pharmaceutical company founded in 1926 headquartered in Milan. It has been present in Portugal since 2006 when it acquired a local player, and since then, we have managed the group as a multinational. We have two different businesses, one for primary care and the other focused on orphan drugs for rare diseases. The latter is not managed in Portugal, but Madrid. Primary care is the main business line, representing 70% of the entire group and 95% of our business in Portugal. We are focused on cardiovascular, urology, pain relief, and OTCs and have some of the market-leading references in each of these areas.

What is the strategy to expand your influence in these therapeutic areas?

At a national level, following the headquarters strategy, first comes organic growth. We have new products under patent and still maintain a fairly strong presence in promotion directed to doctors. We have one of the largest sales forces in the Portuguese market. We pursue organic growth through existing products under patent or data protection. We also have new products that can come from two different sources: Recordati and via our partnerships with other companies such as Novartis. We form agreements to promote their product in this area.

What work do you do with other pharmaceutical companies, and what is the strategy for win-win scenarios and joint product development?

First, we are a flexible company, with 22 agreements established in Portugal, with Japanese, American, Swiss, French, and Spanish companies. The second point is that we follow a strict ethical code which means that we guarantee our partners that they will have no problems in terms of regulation, legislation, or ethical issues. Third, our arrangement provides a win-win solution. So basically, what we do is offer diverse services and marketing solutions. Finally, we offer a digital footprint due to our active presence in that medium. We offer the services that most multinationals dedicate to primary care as they are particularly focused on the hospital business. Increased of course by a strong brand that all HCPs recognize. Those three make us an interesting partner for the future.

What can you tell us about alliances and your work with international companies?

Recordati plays an essential role for international pharmaceutical companies that want to expand their influence and their reach in Europe and other countries. Partnerships with other multinationals are an interesting avenue for business. The multinational splits the world into two. Companies in America or Asia want a reliable partner for each area. Sometimes they want a global partner, sometimes a reliable one for Europe, and most of them keep their products in Asia. Recordati can add that value because we are becoming a transversal organization. We are focused and are an outstanding commercial organization, with a leader footprint. We have also developed our skills in R&D considerably since 1980. Because of the program with rare diseases, we have become more efficient in meeting the needs of entrant pharmaceutical players.

What are the company’s main business development ambitions?

According to our CEO disclosure, we will continue to work on rare diseases because that’s where we have focused our innovation investment. On the primary care side, we will continue to be primarily a partner in Europe, and we intend to remain a reliable and solid partner in the future. We will remain focused on the areas where we are strong, and our main driver is that we have several manufacturing plants in Europe. We are becoming a green company and aim to be a zero-carbon company within the next five years. We are becoming a more responsible company, and are quite focused on ESG, giving maximum value to shareholders, but in reality, all stakeholders.