SERVING YOUR HEALTH

Having started with the production of organo-therapeutic products, Gedeon Richter has developed into a giant of the pharmaceutical industry not only in Hungary, but also in the whole world in more than 100 years. The opening of the company's representation in Azerbaijan proves once again its loyalty to the ideas of the founder of the factory about the need to set up foreign points of support which help implement the principle of a "multi-national presence" in the market. The director of the company's representation in Azerbaijan, Saida Hasanova, says that the activity of their office in Azerbaijan, aimed at the active promotion of the company's medicines, includes various forms of work - from individual visits to physicians and weekly mini-conferences to presentations, seminars and major symposiums. 

In order to strengthen the positions of the Gedeon Richter company in Azerbaijan's pharmaceutical market, active cooperation has been established with the country's medical public. Over the last year alone, the company sponsored the organization of such important seminars as "The organization of special onco-haematological aid to children in the Azerbaijan Republic", "A modern view of uro-oncological research" and a scientific conference on the 100th birthday of scientist Aziz Aliyev. Business relations between Gedeon Richter and the Azerbaijani company Vita Ltd - the first official distributor of pharmaceutical products - resulted in the opening of a joint Azerbaijani-Hungarian enterprise called Vita-Richter. The aim of this bilateral cooperation is to grant consumers access to products of the company, the annual turnover of which is growing - also thanks to the work of its branches in regions.

Hungary is a member of the EU

On 1 May 2004, Hungary became a full member of the EU with voting rights. The Gedeon Richter factory - one of the biggest producers of medicines in eastern Europe - carried out colossal work to re-register all medicines to ensure their presence on the market of united Europe. Today 33 per cent of medicines from the overall volume of medicines registered all over the world are placed on the US market. Twenty-two per cent of all products are sold in CIS countries.

From the history of the factory

The company was founded in 1901 by the Hungarian pharmacist Gedeon Richter, and the factory is still named after him. In his youth, Richter took a scientific trip around the world after graduating from university. After his return, he opened a pharmacy called "Sas" (Eagle) in Budapest. This pharmacy is still working. Soon Richter released four well-known organo-therapeutic medicines. In 1903, he bought a big plot of land in Budapest where he started his industrial business. Then the factory started producing vegetable raw materials. The patent for Hyperol was registered in 1909. This disinfectant medicine was of great importance to the army during WWI. In 1912, he released Calmopirin which is still used. By the end of the war, Gedeon Richter was already regarded as an important pharmaceutical factory in the kingdom. 

In 1935, the factory already had 230 members of staff. Gedeon Richter himself was the driving force behind all research work. He worked at the factory from seven o'clock in the morning till 1400. Then he read special books until late. He achieved outstanding success with his strategy for developing the enterprise. Having realized that the production of medicines cannot be profitable without extensive foreign ties, he started to develop an international trade network. He did this before many other multi-national firms, founding foreign branches one after another. In the 1930s, he had a whole network of agents on five continents, while 10 affiliate factories produced and sold medicines. Before WWII, Gedeon Richter was the second largest exporter from Hungary.

Specialists from the factory paid their first visit to the USSR in 1954. The most intensive research work of the company was carried out at almost the same time. It resulted in the release of the well-known Seduxen. As a result of research into Vincamine, a medicine called Cavinton was released. This period is characterized by considerable growth in the export of pharmaceutical products to the Soviet Union. Licensing agreements were signed with foreign countries, including with the Belgian company Janssen. The first joint venture was set up in 1962. In the 1990s, the Japanese company Nomura recognized Gedeon Richter as one of the most important pharmaceutical companies in central Europe.

Gedeon Richter today

Nowadays, the factory is widely represented abroad. In the CIS alone, it has 20 regional branches which employ a total of 180 people.

The new conditions also require a different quality of medicines. The current philosophy of the factory coincides with the philosophy of the founder of the company - to release a wide assortment of effective medicines that can be acquired by anyone who wants to improve their quality of life.

The economic situation of the company

The shares of the company are sold on the stock exchanges of Budapest, London, Frankfurt, Vienna and other countries. The value of the company on the stock exchanges is more than 1 billion dollars. Western institutional investors regard its shares, to put it figuratively, as "blue chip", i.e. reliable and profitable. The annual sale of GR medicines in Russia and the CIS, and western Europe, America and Japan is increasing all the time. The factory produces more than 100 types of high quality medicines. Tens of millions of dollars are spent on scientific research every year to develop new medicines. Incidentally, the scientific base of the factory is regarded as one of the strongest in Europe. In this regard, the economic situation of the company is regarded as very stable; this in turn has its effect on the shares of the factory.