Vienna, 12.10.2020. In the third quarter of 2020, AOP Orphan took over the health care companies Amomed Pharma GmbH and SciPharm S.à.r.l. AOP Orphan thus continues its consistent growth trajectory towards being a pan-European health care group with a focus on rare and complex diseases. Researching, developing, and marketing new products and services are geared towards the entire global market, which is already covered from Canada through to South America and Australia.
Creation of new jobs
The takeover will mean that the AOP Orphan Group’s workforce will grow from 220 to approx. 350 employees. “From the beginning, it was our priority to preserve all existing jobs and we have done just that. By developing innovative therapies and a broader territorial presence, we are convinced that we will continue to generate significant growth,” says Andreas Steiner, CEO of AOP Orphan.
2030: A billion euros in revenues
The Group intends to increase its revenues to one billion euros by 2030. “Due to the strategic focus on providing holistic therapy solutions which include drugs, medical devices and patient services and an innovative product pipeline, we are convinced that this positive development will come to fruition,” Steiner continues. AOP currently has various products for around 10 indications in the pipeline, including for septic shock, Huntington's chorea (a functional disorder of the brain characterized by motor and behavioral problems) or chronic myeloid leukemia, a malignant disease of the bone marrow. As well as developing innovative therapies, the international team also works on medical devices and software solutions, e.g. for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Patients are connected to the doctors treating them by an app which enables the dose of the drug which is administered using a pump to be controlled - precisely and tailored to the individual patient.
Production: 80 percent in Europe
The AOP Orphan Group manufactures 80 percent of its drugs in Europe - an aspect which has become more and more relevant since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The AOP Orphan Group now has more than 20 subsidiaries and representative offices across the whole of Europe as well as in the United Arab Emirates and Israel. We aim to enhance this presence and tap into new markets.
Focus on special diseases with a complex management
The AOP Orphan Group is the European pioneer in the field of special diseases with a complex management. After the takeover, the health care group will concentrate on four therapeutic divisions: hemato-oncology, cardiology & pulmonology, neurology & metabolic disorders, and intensive care medicine. The company focuses on developing holistic therapy solutions that place patients at the heart of the matter.
The patient-centric approach
The foundation of the AOP Orphan subsidiary OrphaCare GmbH in 2018, with its focus on developing patient services, cemented this patient-centric approach. The takeover of Amomed and SciPharm brings the research and development of drugs as well as the development of medical devices and patient services together under one roof, creating optimal conditions for developing integrated therapies. OrphaCare’s hotline, for example, is a key service in the everyday life of people suffering with PAH. The hotline does not just provide technical support: it is also manned by experts around the clock. “We as doctors very much appreciate this approach, as do the patients. Because it is important to ensure long-term treatment with a life-saving drug. This expert hotline is of great value and is now indispensable in providing care to patients,” explains Professor Dr. Irene Lang, Head of the Pulmonary Hypertension Outpatient Clinic at Vienna’s General Hospital (AKH).