BIAL
Starting 1924 as a drugstore/pharmacy in Porto, the second largest town of Portugal, BIAL evolved to become the biggest Portuguese pharma independent firm, the only one among the top 10 largest pharmaceutical firms with facilities and sales in Portugal. Bial has recently brought to market the first ever medicine fully developed and patented in Portugal, even if its manufacture has been outsourced to a company in Canada, after a reported dedicated investment of ca. €300 million over a period of 15 years.
This anti-epileptic drug is currently being sold under a partnership with a Japanese firm in 12 different European countries, after being approved by the European Medicines Agency. (http://www.bial.com/pt/noticias_e_eventos.12/bial_lanca_antiepiletico_em_espanha.a168.html )
U.S. Food and Drugs Administration’s approval is still outstanding, even though the US and Canadian markets are in the crosshairs of BIAL’s marketing strategists.
In order to arrive here BIAL had to go through a long learning process which included the sale in Portugal under license by foreign multinational pharma companies of 16 different drugs.
Bial and its Foundation have been awarding every second year since 1984 several prizes the most valuable of which, the Bial Merit Award for Medical Sciences, bears presently the value of €200,000, and the Bial Award for Clinical Medicine in the amount of €100,000. The Bial Foundation also supports research in different countries. (http://www.bial.com/pt/fundacao_bial.11/premio_bial.17/premio_bial.a37.html )
Bial has a subsidiary in Spain, distribution outlets in Italy, Switzerland, Mozambique, Angola, Ivory Coast and Panama, and sells its products in over 40 different national markets worldwide. However, the domestic market is still responsible for 63% of Bial’s total sales.
90 to 95% of its new medicine retail price is covered by the Portuguese public health department, apparently in line with similar drugs. Public restrictions on drug retail prices and incentives to the consumption of generic drugs are seen as the main obstacles in recent years.
Bial employs 770 people, 107 from 8 different nationalities in R&D activities alone, and collaborates with a network of some 90 research institutions world-wide. It invests 22% of sales (currently around €200 million per year, up from €90 million in 2005) in R&D activities.
They are now facing the challenge of funding the development of two more new drugs for which they need around one billion dollars.
In a nutshell, Bial, under the leadership of Luis Portela, was able to pursue long term ambitious objectives and to get its own medicine to the international market, using a network of relationships vital to the thrive in this kind of business. Through various means, Luis Portela and his team, which includes two sons sitting on the board, has created the necessary goodwill among Portugal’s political and business elite (Portugal’s head of state presides Bial’s Foundation award ceremonies and Bial is praised in the media as an exemplary innovative firm). Luis Portela also presides the so-called Health Cluster Portugal, where most companies and other health related institutions come together. The biggest challenges ahead seem to lay with the bet on further blockbuster medicines and inherent necessary funding (2 are in the pipeline for which 1 billion euros seem to be needed) and with the succession at the helm of Bial (the elder son has very recently been called to takeover as Bial’s CEO and Luis Portela will be holding the non-executive job of chairman). Bial is still very much a family business not listed/traded in the stock exchange with all inherent pros and cons and the risks in going for blockbuster drugs are enormous.
posted by Carlos A. Páscoa Machado @ 11:00 AM
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