Alicante-based pharmaceutical company Asacpharma, the only laboratory in the Valencia region equipped to manufacture biological medicines for human use, its vaccines ‘with names and surnames’ as they are known, has achieved another milestone: after seeing strong growth in 2022 across its three business lines (osteomuscular, dermatology and allergy), Asacpharma is releasing the first Alicante-made medical product, a cream to treat damaged skin.
Asacpharma CEO, Eliseo Aller, highlights that in 2022 the company recorded 47 million euros in turnover, 13% more than in 2021 (42 million), with improved results across the board. In the Spanish market, the musculoskeletal line grew by 15.5%, the dermatology range by 36%, and the allergy range by 23%”, he explains. Meanwhile, “exports grew by 18%”, although its subsidiaries’ performance was more moderate: 6% growth in Morocco and 25% in Latin America (Brazil and Mexico).
The increase in revenue, which is not directly related to inflation (medicine prices are regulated) but to greater activity, has allowed the company to “greatly improve its EBITDA”, which yielded a profit of 4 million euros before taxes. “The working capital, which was already positive, has been bolstered”, Aller explains. “We have been affected somewhat by the exchange rate, due to the weakness of the Moroccan dirham”, where the company’s main production plant is. In addition, “we have decreased somewhat in manufacturing for third parties”, because since last year these clients have been committed to pushing their own labels.
It should be remembered that in 2021 Asacpharma placed two new products on the market in its osteomuscular range (the biggest contributor to its business mix, accounting for 65% of its revenue): Durfenta, a fentanyl patch to treat chronic pain with a prolonged release membrane that allows its effects to be prolonged over time, and Gotaric, a gout treatment that is positioning itself in rheumatology. The patch brought in a total of 1.7 million euros in revenue in 2022, with 100% growth, and is expected to continue growing, according to Aller, who also expects the vaccine range to double its turnover in three years. “The goal is to surpass 50 million in turnover in 2023”.
Innovation in the allergy range for two-fold business growth
As for the allergy range, “we are firmly committed to our proprietary products, such as Apioral”, which allows users to treat allergies at home with its sublingual administration. “We are innovating especially in the duos, where we have achieved the maximum concentration of two allergens, which is an advantage for those patients with different allergies: we have achieved the maximum dose in a single vaccine”, underscores Asacpharma Marketing Director Julio Gosálbez. The company is currently conducting a trial with 650 patients to measure the improvement in quality of life and the decrease in the need for additional medication thanks to the use of this product, and this year or the next the article will be published. “The results are very positive”.
he dermatology range is the smallest, but strategic, being free priced and diversifying risk. All its products (Atache) are manufactured in Alicante from its own formulation and adapted to the demanding regulations for pharmaceutical products. In this vein, Asacpharma is about to launch—probably in the last quarter of the year—its first medical product and the first of its kind to be made in Alicante (as well as one of the first in the Valencia region): Hyplus. It is a cream to treat damaged or open skin, such as “grade 1 and 2 pressure ulcers, dermatitis and eczema”, according to Gosálbez. The company has invested 400,000 euros in a development that “complies with European MDR regulations on medical devices”.
Feminised company
On the other hand, Asacpharma has just been certified for its equality plan, which is registered in the Ministry of Labour’s Registry of Collective Agreements, which recognises it as a feminised company. “In Spain, 60% of the workforce are women, and 51% at group level. Women are also part of the highest echelons of the organisation chart, and in Morocco the management team has more women than men”, highlights the company’s Human Resources director, Carla Navarro. “We started this effort a long time ago, but it has been easy because Asacpharma, naturally, was already very advanced in terms of work-life balance, flexibility and equal pay”. The group employs 175 people in Spain and more than 400 in total and is “maintaining the level of employment after covid, and furthermore, quality employment, with a turnover rate that is well below the sector average”.
Source: https://alicanteplaza.es/asac-pharma-primer-producto-sanitario-alicante-facturacion-2022
