The Slovenian Pharmaceutical Society (SPS) awarded the 2020 Minařik Medal to Tone Strnad, MSc Pharm., the founder and owner of Medis. It is the highest award given by the Society for longstanding and exceptional service to the development of pharmacy. Another professional acknowledgement for contribution to pharmacy - the 2021 Minařik Award - was presented to Martina Perharič, PhD, CEO of Medis, at the same award ceremony.
The SPS awards the Minařik Medal and the Minařik Award as the highest expert confirmation of outstanding achievements in the field of pharmacy. Due to the epidemiological situation, the Society did not present the awards last year, so this year it awarded them for both 2020 and 2021.
As they pointed out in the SPS, Tone Strnad has helped shape Slovenian pharmaceutical history for more than 40 years. In it, he created a unique story: the international pharmaceutical company Medis, which today has subsidiaries in 18 countries and almost 400 employees.
The most important contribution that Tone Strnad has made to healthcare and pharmacy in Slovenia is providing Slovenian patients with a high-quality range of medicines. Especially ones that large manufacturers, for various reasons, would not register in Slovenia or would do so with a delay,
the SPS explained in its decision
These are mostly medicines in smaller indication groups. Often it was Medis in particular that convinced manufacturers that medicines were also important for Slovenia. Tone Strnad proves that with the practical application of pharmaceutical knowledge it is possible to be successful in Slovenia and in a demanding international environment. He works as a prudent, dynamic and open businessman, but his contribution is also tangible outside of pharmacy. For many years, Medis has been a strong supporter of numerous non-governmental organizations, charities and cultural institutions,
they added.
Tone Strnad is also the mastermind behind the International Medis Awards, international expert awards for outstanding research achievements in medicine and pharmacy. The competition's purpose is to draw attention to advanced projects, while raising awareness among the general public about important contributions to better patient care. The awards will be presented this November for the eighth time in a row.
For his longstanding selfless and financial support of the cultural field, the Slovenian Cultural Organizations Association awarded Tone Strnad the first Ravnihar Award. He is the initiator and president of various business associations, most recently the Section of Medicine Wholesalers at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia. Since 2006, he has been amember of the Supervisory Board of the German-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce. This year he also became its president.
The 2021 Minařik Award went to Martina Perharič, PhD, Medis CEO. As the head of Pharmaceutical Division at Medis, she was involved in the development of Medis' own OTC medicines and the internationalization of the company's business. She has been the CEO of Medis since 2018. Under her leadership, Medis continues to grow its business and fulfil its mission - to make the latest medicines available to patients in CEE region. In doing so, Medis experts strive to provide the best possible support to doctors and other professionals through regular information and training. Education is crucial for the correct and effective use of medicines.
In the last 20 years, Medis has enabled the treatment of patients with at least 100 new medicines, mostly speciality ones. At the same time, Martina Perharič has always taken care of the employee development and knowledge transfer between them. She is also promoting scholarships, employment and mentoring support for pharmacists,
the SPS explained in its reasons for awarding the Minařik Award to Martina Perharič.
Last year, the Manager’s Association of Slovenia awarded Martina Perharič the Artemis Award for creative leadership, developing of an entrepreneurial culture and adapting to a new reality. She was the co-founder and first editor of the magazine Naša Lekarna (Our Pharmacy). For several years she was also a guest lecturer on Marketing in Healthcare for postgraduate studies at the University of Ljubljana’s School of Economics and Business.
