Alongside the imposing building with sober and modern curves, the red brick buildings, which house state-of-the-art production tools behind their walls, are not lacking in charm with their old-fashioned factory look. A contemporary style that does not deny the past. This could perfectly sum up the philosophy of the pioneer of the Danish pharmaceutical industry, LEO Pharma. “Our society has known very interesting developments for more than a century. We are today at a key moment in our history to write the chapter of the next twenty-five years”details the Franco-German Christophe Bourdon, its CEO, during a visit to the factory this spring.
Founded in 1908, in Copenhagen, the pharmaceutical laboratory is an emblematic figure in the sector. First to have marketed a drug produced on an industrial scale on the local market, first to have exported a health product, first to have marketed insulin in Denmark… A fine business card, which he now hopes to complete with a new title: that of world champion in dermatology. “This sector, whose growth projections vary between 10% and 15%, remains neglected by the major laboratories. However, there are a multitude of diseases in this area that remain unsolved.observes Mr. Bourdon.
To do this, the Danish company has accelerated its transformation in recent years, and made a strategic shift towards biological products, by buying in 2016 from AstraZeneca the rights to tralokinumab, a monoclonal antibody intended to treat patients with atopic dermatitis. Authorized in Europe in 2021, and a year later in the United States, Adtralza, which already has between 8% and 12% market share in the countries where it is marketed, is nibbling on the flowerbeds of Dupixent, Sanofi’s flagship product.
“Colossal investments”
It is also a turning point in the research and development strategy of LEO Pharma, which, like Big Pharma, now emphasizes external partnerships to supply its drug portfolio. The laboratory thus hopes to identify and develop new products more quickly. “Innovation in dermatology moves fast. We do not have the resources to build research exclusively in-house. We had to make choices.”explains Mr. Bourdon.
Still in full transformation, the company, which has relieved part of its teams to reduce its costs, posted revenues in the red in 2022. But, at the headquarters of the laboratory, installed in the industrial zone of Ballerup, located about fifteen kilometers from Copenhagen, the boss of the Nordic laboratory remains confident. “Our transformation has required colossal investments in recent years, but we should be back in the green in 2023”he notes.
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