Shortly after its foundation in 1989, Medis expanded its business from Slovenia to neighbouring countries. Today, we are present in 18 European countries, including Croatia. On the occasion of 35 years of business, Medis CEO Maja Strnad Cestar discussed key determinants of our success so far with the Croatian magazine Pharmabiz.
Medis is celebrating an important anniversary this year, on which we congratulate you! How do you see the company's success and growth over the last 35 years?
Thank you very much for your congratulations! We are very excited about our anniversary, and 35 years is quite a long time for a company, at least when considering that almost three quarters of all companies go bankrupt after ten years. Therefore, I can proudly say that Medis is a healthy and financially sound international company with a dedicated team of employees.
I am certain that our strong and talented team has brought us to the point where we can say that we are the leading company for full commercialization of prescription medicines, non-prescription medicines, food supplements, medical products and hospital equipment in Central and Eastern Europe.
During all these years, we have managed to maintain our independence. We have remained a family-owned company and are not part of any corporation or foreign financial fund.
In your opinion, what makes Medis unique on the market? What are the key elements and strategies that are responsible for the company's business success and progress?
When my father Tone Strnad founded a pharmaceutical marketing company 35 years ago, we were the only company of its kind in the region. Today, we face strong competition that requires us to constantly adapt. We have to be agile, efficient and innovative. At the same time, as a pharmaceutical company, we must work to the highest ethical standards required in our industry.
Neither the owners nor the company have ever been involved in a corruption scandal, because for us an ethical and transparent business is really the only possible way of operating. This often seems self-evident to us, but when we look around, we see that this is definitely not always the case.
I have already mentioned that our business environment is becoming increasingly competitive, but we are still managing to maintain the growth trend. In addition, the pharmaceutical market is highly regulated, which means that price corrections are usually not possible despite inflation and rising costs. We have therefore focused on optimizing our business operations and digitalizing processes to increase our efficiency, with long-term mindset, aiming to preserve the company for future generations. That is why we work economically and prudently – both at regional and local level.
We are aware that our employees, of whom there are around 400 today, are our great competitive advantage. Ambitious, creative and competent people choose to work for us because they know that we build respectful relationships and committed teams and that we offer our employees the opportunity for constant growth and continuous training.
Last but not least, we place great importance on building good and lasting relationships with customers, partners and other stakeholders, and we have earned their trust with our expertise. This was nicely demonstrated during the celebrations of our 35th anniversary, when we invited our partners to share their views on working with Medis to mark this wonderful jubilee. We received really encouraging messages, one of the partners even wrote that we are synonymous with partnership. That means a lot to me personally.
Since its foundation, Medis has achieved continuous and stable growth, and for 2024 you are planning a turnover of 146 million euros with more than 400 employees. What factors have contributed to the company's financial success and stability?
Over the last three years, our turnover has grown strongly, in 2023 we achieved a turnover of 137 million euros, and this year we are planning around 9 million more. We have greatly expanded our portfolio with products from existing and new partners.
At the same time, we are also developing our own brands. If we look by country, we have invested heavily in business expansion in Poland and Romania in the past period. In any case, our goals are realistic and responsible, but also ambitious, as they have always been.
Who specifically are the services you offer intended for and why do pharmaceutical companies choose to work with Medis? Who are your most important partners?
We are organised into four strategic business units – Medis Therapeutics, Medis Consumer Health, Medis Hospital Care and Medis Aesthetics. Each business unit focuses on its own business segment.
Some over-the-counter medicines are the result of our own development, but most of the products in our portfolio are produced by our partner companies, mostly large global pharmaceutical or biotech manufacturers. We have to convince these companies to entrust us to bring their products to our region, which is often not even on their “map”. We provide them with all the services required to successfully enter the markets in our region, thus taking care of the full commercialization of medical products with a focus on innovations.
In the area of prescription medicines, our key partners are Alimera, Biogen, Biotest, Ferrer, Medac, Pierre Fabre, Santen and UCB. For hospital supplies, B. Braun has been our partner for 30 years, and we also work with the companies Aesculap, Cytosorbents, Enovis, Gaumard, Optiplan, Paion, Skillqube and Zimmer.
In the field of over-the-counter products, food supplements and infant nutrition, our partners include Ferrer, Novalac, Pleuran, Pohl Boskamp and Urgo, and we also have a whole range of our own innovative brands in the field of food supplements. Medical aesthetics is our newest business unit in which we currently have two partners – Crown Aesthetics and Merz Aesthetics.
You mentioned that global medicine manufacturers often bypass our region. Can you clarify what exactly you mean? Are there specific challenges, obstacles or perceptions related to the pharmaceutical market in our region that discourage manufacturers?
We operate in a very diverse region. The countries differ not only in terms of their population, but also in terms of their level of development and the proportion of GDP for healthcare spending. Due to the extreme fragmentation of the markets, global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are often hesitant about entering our region. They are restricted by the complexity and diversity of local regulations, different languages and even scripts, cultural and economic differences and slow administrative processes. All of this contributes to the high cost of entering a market and then continuing business there.
And this is where we come in. Our job is to make it easier for our partners to enter the market and minimize the costs and business risks. In the 35 years of our existence, we have gained valuable experience and a lot of knowledge about how we can enable our partners to enter local markets as quickly, easily and efficiently as possible. However, this is a marathon, not a sprint and, believe me, very hard work.
With which portfolio is Medis present on the Croatian market? Can you tell us the key therapeutic areas in which you are particularly strong?
On the Croatian market, we are available to patients via the hospital and pharmacy sector. We are particularly strong in neurology and ophthalmology, but we are also present in rheumatology, dermatology, pulmonology, gynaecology, haematology and paediatrics. I would like to emphasize the area of aesthetic medicine, where we are also present with the prestigious brands of our partner Merz Aesthetics and our partner Crown Aesthetics with BIOJUVE products.
In my opinion, it is unethical and unacceptable that a patient cannot be treated when the solution for their better health already exists.
How do you assess the level of availability of new and innovative therapies in Croatia compared to other countries where Medis is present? Are there significant differences in terms of the speed and scope of launching such therapies and what do you think are the biggest challenges in this regard in Croatia?
Although we are witnessing a significant increase in the number and speed of innovation, especially in recent years, not every new therapy reaches the patients who need it. This raises the question: How can innovations benefit patients if they do not have access to the therapies?
European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) points to wide disparities between the countries of the European Union when it comes to the availability of medicines and the time to reimbursement. For example, if we consider only the countries where Medis operates, we can see large differences. The average reimbursement time ranges from 283 days in Austria to 804 days in Poland. Croatia is somewhere in the middle with 555 days.
Considering that Croatia is a much smaller market compared to many other European countries and spends a smaller proportion of GDP on healthcare, I would say that the availability of innovative therapies in Croatia is good. This shows that effective healthcare policies and strong cooperation between stakeholders are needed to ensure that all patients have equal access to therapies, regardless of which country they come from.
In my opinion, it is unethical and unacceptable that a patient cannot be treated when the solution for their better health already exists. Achieving this goal is the shared responsibility of all stakeholders – the pharmaceutical industry, governments and local authorities, the European Commission and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) – to ensure that patients really do come first.
What other specifics do you see in the Croatian market for medicines and medical products compared to other markets in the region? How does Medis adapt its strategies to do business successfully in this particular environment?
At Medis, we always strive to ensure that the medicines we bring to the Croatian market meet the needs of patients. We adapt our marketing approach to the specifics of the Croatian market and localize our strategies accordingly. In addition, we rely on long-term monitoring of trends in Croatia and the region, which enables us to recognize the needs of patients and doctors in a timely manner by using our expertise and many years of experience in the market – Medis has been present in Croatia since 1995.
We also constantly exchange valuable experience and knowledge with our global partners. Thanks to this adaptability, we manage to keep up with the latest scientific achievements and changes on a global level.
Medis is the founder and sponsor of the International Medis Awards (IMA) contest. You state that also this year it received a large number of applications – 251 in total. How did you come up with the idea of starting the contest?
In everyday work with doctors and pharmacists, we noticed that in addition to their regular work with patients, they are also involved in scientific research, which mainly takes place in their spare time. There are many such exceptional experts in our region whose research is regularly published in the most recognized scientific journals in the world, but the local public is generally unaware of them.
To support the general development of medicine and pharmacy and thereby further promote research, we founded the IMA contest in 2014, with Medis as the main sponsor. The purpose of the Awards is to increase public recognition of doctors and pharmacists who carry out scientific research alongside their regular work.
Can you explain in more detail who the IMA contest is for, i.e. who can apply and what the application criteria are? What is the evaluation process like and who are the judges?
Doctors and pharmacists who have published their scientific research in the last year in reputable scientific publications with an impact factor greater than 1.500 can apply for the contest. The selection criteria are defined in detail each year in the call for entries.
The contest is open to nine medical fields and 11 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The submitted scientific papers are evaluated by an independent International Scientific Committee consisting of 10 renowned professors. During the evaluation process, the Committee first selects the nominees who meet the high requirements for inclusion in the contest. It then selects two finalists and finally one winner for each field.
To ensure a high level of objectivity, members of the committee have a three-year mandate and new members have been appointed this year. We are pleased to say that Prof. Jasminka Peršec, MD, PhD, has joined us from Croatia as the Committee member for Intensive Care Medicine and Anaesthesiology.
How much interest is there among Croatian doctors and pharmacists in participating in the contest, which has been present in Croatia from the very beginning?
We notice that due to the high standards of the contest, applied scientists are already proud when the Committee includes them among the finalists for the Awards. The finalists, and especially the winners, are often surprised by the fact that their work has been noticed – that they have received valued recognition that is reported in the media, and that their achievement resonates with the wider society in which they live and work. We have noticed that the IMA is mentioned as a reference in CVs, proving that the Awards carry importance in medical and pharmaceutical circles.
Traditionally, many applications, finalists and even contest winners come from Croatia. So far, 31 finalists have come from Croatia, and from them as many as 16 winners. This shows a high level of scientific research work and at the same time confirms that there is great interest in the Awards and that these Awards are valued among doctors and pharmacists, which we are particularly pleased about.
Where do you see Medis in ten years' time? What are the key strategic guidelines that will shape the future of the company over the next decade?
Our goal is to build on the foundations we have laid in recent years. The key is to improve the business and strengthen the local teams in our newest countries where we started our business in the last five years. We will focus more on hospital supplies and further expanding our portfolio of prescription medicines, especially in rare diseases, neurology and oncology - areas where we already have a very strong presence.
For over-the-counter products, we plan to further invest in the development of our own brands, particularly in the segments of digestive health, well-being and fertility. We will do our best to remain an excellent employer that attracts ambitious and motivated people.
Considering the entry of the new generations, Generation Z and Generation Alpha, into the labour market, business will not be possible without sustainable practices. Therefore, investing in sustainable solutions is also one of our important tasks for the next decade.
We discussed Medis and the IMA, but we have not talked about you personally. To conclude our interview, can you tell us who Maja Strnad Cestar is outside the office? What are your passions, interests and activities that fulfil you outside the business environment?
My personal and business lives are very closely intertwined and I do not see myself any different in my personal life than at work. I love people. I am interested in their stories, what makes them happy and what inspires them, how they seek to grow and improve.
I love traveling, leaving my European way of thinking at home and experiencing other countries through those eyes. My favourite thing is exploring vibrant local markets, which authentically and unobtrusively exude the culture of the people and their customs.
I also like running. Probably because I can do it without any special preparation or equipment – I put on my running shoes and off I go! I have also inherited the joy of preparing various dishes, especially appetizers, where I find it important how the dish not only tastes but also looks. After work, I like to cook lunch for my three boys. This is time just for us – to calm our thoughts, share important events and feelings of the day and have a look at what tomorrow has in store for us.
