Annual Report 2016
Wolfgang Marguerre Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Revenue

€1.6bn

Employees

7,094

Our passion drives us to provide new health solutions advancing human life.

Advancing human lives, it's in our blood

I am proud to introduce this special Annual Report that focuses on the patients whose lives are being transformed by our therapies. Profiling the stories of children, women and men in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Europe and the US, this report reflects our company’s vision: “Our passion drives us to provide new health solutions advancing human life.” I have been moved by the passion and courage of all participants, including the families, patient advocates, nurses, physicians and scientists supporting patients with rare and complex diseases. Thanks to all interviewees for their openness in sharing their stories.

Since I founded Octapharma in 1983, the company has grown into a truly global group. At heart we remain a family business but we are now a much larger family, employing 7,094 people and serving patients in 113 countries. This year we achieved record-breaking revenue of €1.6 billion and pre-tax profits of €388 million.

We have been investing in the future to continue to grow in a sustainable way, including increasing our fractionation capacity to help even more people in need. Our five company values – Ownership, Integrity, Leadership, Sustainability and Entrepreneurship – will continue to guide all our decisions and actions.

Committed to meeting the increasing demand for Octapharma’s plasma-derived therapies, we are expanding our fleet of plasma donation centres. A very important milestone was the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of our new state-of-the-art plasma testing laboratory in Charlotte, which will give us greater control and further strengthen our operations.

We are committed to developing novel solutions to address the unmet needs of patients with rare diseases. We are accelerating the development of new products in both our plasma and recombinant product pipelines. Our new third generation 10% intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), panzyga®, was launched in Canada, and is expected to reach other major markets in 2017 and beyond. We also submitted our new fibrinogen concentrate for registration in the EU, the US and Canada.

Many patients are making the switch to our fourth generation, human cell line derived recombinant factor VIII (FVIII) product, Nuwiq®. The development of inhibitors remains the biggest challenge for patients with haemophilia. Our official interim results from the previously untreated patient (PUP) study, NuProtect, were presented at the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) World Congress in Orlando and vindicate our proof of concept.

Octapharma continues to invest heavily in clinical trials – both registration studies to support marketing authorisations for new products and studies to support new indications for existing products. Recognising the individuality of patients, we are continuing important clinical studies in “personalised prophylaxis” for haemophilia A and B patients with Nuwiq® (NuPreviq) and our factor IX (FIX) product octanine®F (ProNINE).

Access to medicine continues to be a persistent dilemma in many countries for a variety of reasons, from lack of diagnosis and knowledge to insufficient healthcare systems and conflicting priorities. Octapharma supported the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program with several million IUs of Nuwiq®. In 2016 I celebrated both my 75th birthday and 33 years since I founded Octapharma. These anniversaries cause reflections on the progress we have made in terms of advancing science and treatment options. I want to thank all Octapharma staff for their commitment to the company and its well-being. My family is committed to leading this company into the future. We will continue with our efforts to provide patients worldwide with our lifesaving therapies.

Wolfgang Marguerre Chairman & Chief Executive Officer