Thinking big also means researching and innovating in a big way:
this is the story of the pharmaceutical company that was set up in Modena and
that now boasts a turnover of €220 million with
over four hundred employees. But, most of all, that provides concrete answers
for global health. For FARE INSIEME, Giampaolo Colletti interviewed Federico
Saetti, CEO of Opocrin
of Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
What if? This is an open
question even visionary entrepreneurs at times do not know how to answer,
although they are aware of how important it is. Federico Saetti is among them.
Maybe he did not even imagine what heights he and the pharmaceutical company he
leads would reach. Yet the projects and figures tell a success story in that
land of innovation that also bets on pharmaceutical research. Saetti has become the Chief executive officer
of Opocrin after working for many years in the development and commercial
teams. The company is located in the Modena area, and more precisely in the
small town of Corlo di Formigine. The production facility is instead located in
Nonantola. It is in this part of Emilia that this gem is located, which has
become a pharmaceutical business capable of providing targeted answers to
employees. What if? This is the
question that was also asked by pharmacologist Pietro Banchini when he set up
the small research laboratory from scratch, based on active biological
principles and which would grow over the years. It was 1964 and the objective,
just like today, was to look to nature for the pharmaceutical active principles
suitable for humans, isolate them and make them available on the market using
the best and safest technology. “This is the third generation as Opocrin was
founded by my maternal grandfather Pietro Bianchini, a well-known pharmacologist
esteemed by the international scientific community. My father took over in 2007
and handed things over to me in 2017, even though I had already started working
for the company in 2007, when I was only 21, starting off with production and
moving on to the commercial department. I can say I was born and bred within
the company,” recalls Saetti.
Opocrin’s challenges. Local roots and
a global mission. Today, Opocrin is a global leader in the production of
heparin derivatives. Its success is derived from its history. It currently
boasts a commercial network enabling it to operate in over 50 countries. The
objective: contribute to scientific progress to improve health. Opocrin works
in close contact with selected partners to develop new innovative products
thanks to the possibility of managing the project on a broad spectrum, from the
supply of active principles for clinical studies, to the industrialisation of
production for commercial purposes. The turnover is €220 million and the
company employs 374 employees, with many new open positions. Over the past two
years, it strengthened the part linked to acquisitions and became a group in
2020. “10% of our turnover currently derives from the pharmaceutical world,
while 90% is linked to active principles. But the figures will switch over in
the future,” stresses Saetti. The company produces life-saving products such as
heparin. Over the past few years, it developed new by-products precisely from
heparin, i.e. solutions with no anticoagulant and antithrombotic activity that
have paved the way for new therapeutic areas. In this case too, research means
hope. Today, the organisation makes it possible to follow the entire life cycle
of a product, from the raw material to commercialization. “We specialize in the
research and development of complex molecules with the objective of discovering
new potential and new life-saving treatment approaches. We put research at the
service of health and are always searching for new therapeutic approaches,”
reports Saetti. Since its establishment, the company has been committed to
contrasting glaucoma, the eye disease characterized by an abnormal increase of
intraocular pressure responsible for damaging the optic nerve and therefore a
possible cause of blindness. Opocrin has been focusing on contrasting the
progression of the damage and has set up a study dedicated to the quality of
life that has involved 220 patients in Italy, Spain, Belgium and Greece. “It is
an invalidating disease to which our group has contributed to an extraordinary
improvement in the quality of life of patients, with measurable scientific
progress and indisputable clinical findings,” stresses Saetti.
Future in research. Ambitions that grow.
Opocrin has acquired Laboratori derivati organici, a company specializing in
the production of active pharmaceutical principles, mainly heparin and
heparinoids. It has thus become one of
the leading heparin producers in the world. But there is more to this: their
research also focuses on studying the molecule that facilitates the onset of
birth. The results of the study phase on tafoxiparin, i.e. modified heparin,
were excellent. “This opens up a new era for the pharmacological induction of
labour. About a quarter of pregnant women are subjected to labour induction by
pharmacological and mechanical methods, which are not always effective. This is
a way to make this incredible event in the life of a couple even safer for the
mother and child,” concludes Saetti. Once again, Opocrin faces contemporary
challenges with determination. The future stems from health and the awareness
that science steers our lives.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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