Together they are worth 12.5 billion in turnover and 44,500 employees: so called Fab13 companies presented 'The social and strategic role of the Italian pharmaceutical industry’
The pharmaceutical industry is a strategic asset for the Italian economy: Draghi government has included among its objectives the increase in investments in the sector, but followed by contradictory political actions which if confirmed would lead to a compression of the national pharmaceutical industry, which it would create a further Italian dependence from abroad: reduction of the Patent Box; weakening of industrial property rights with the competition law which, if approved, will allow the reimbursement of equivalent specialties before the patent expires; the revision of the handbook with the criterion of therapeutic superimposition; alteration of regional distribution channels to the detriment in particular of national companies.
Moreover the increase in costs of raw materials and the increases in energy prices that cause out-of-control production costs cannot be reversed on the final prices of drugs, which are imposed and regulated – unlike other industrial sectors.
Within the Italian pharmaceutical sector which produces 34 billion annually of drugs for export, 13 Pharmaceutical companies, so called Fab13, in 2020 had a turnover of about 12.5 billion euros. Those are mainly family-controlled companies, with offices and production in Italy and have headquarters and production plants in Italy: 1.2 billion annual investments in Italy, payment of taxes in the country although 70% of sales are abroad.
Fab13 are a driving force for the national economy thanks to an integrated supply chain that has developed over decades, becoming a strategic asset for the entire country as the pandemic crisis has clearly shown us.
Together with Alfasigma, headquartered in Bologna – Italy, the other 12 pharmaceutical companies with Italian capital are: Abiogen Pharma (Pisa), Angelini Pharma (Ancona), Chiesi Farmaceutici (Parma), Dompé pharmaceuticals (Milan), IBN Savio (Pomezia RM), Italfarmaco (Milan), Kedrion (Lucca), Menarini (Florence), Molteni (Florence), Mediolanum Farmaceutici (Milan), Recordati (Milan) and Zambon (Milan).
The foreign market accounts for 70% of sales, whereas the pharmaceutical industry average stops at around 40%. In 2020, overall employment was over 44,500 units, growing globally by almost 1,000 units (+ 2.2%) despite the crisis. In terms of employment, the overall impact on the economic system is over 60 thousand employees.
In the period 2010-2020 8.5 billion euros were invested: in 2020 the total amount allocated by the Fab13 is over 1.2 billion euros of investments in research and development. Fab13 have investment projects in the next 36 months for almost 3 billion euros.
