Aspen Pharma Brasil
Produced by Karla Sohn
With a mission to produce, promote and market medicines that provide benefits to the health and quality of life of the population, Aspen Pharma Brazil combines excellence, innovation and quality in its comprehensive product line. This line includes brand name medications, similars, generics, herbal medicines, biological, food and cosmetics. Aspen Pharma Brazil is a subsidiary of the African, Aspen Pharmacare-main, the largest pharmaceutical company in the southern hemisphere and the ninth largest global manufacturer in the similars and generic segment.
Developing its products under the command of highly skilled scientists, as well as other global pharmaceutical and renowned research centers, the company has approximately 400 professionals employed in their Rio de Janeiro headquarters and plant in the municipality of Serra, Espírito Santo.
With an annual production of 880 million tablets and 20 million bottles of capsules, creams, gels, and other pharmaceutical forms, Aspen Pharma meets Brazilian and international market demands for prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The supply chain in Rio de Janeiro with account planning experts and purchases is centralized through a team of buyers and a coordinator. Among the main companies are GSK, Takeda, MSD, Nortec Quimica and Wanbury.
OPERATIONS
Aspen Pharma Brazil’s main goal is to supply the international market. However, it also wants to ensure the group's expansion into Latin America, with a focus on growth through global acquisitions with other multinationals. The company has received investments conferring greater competitiveness in infrastructure and its product portfolio.
Among the business units of the Brazilian subsidiary are prescription products, herbal remedies, SNC and OTC. The main brands currently marketed by the company are Insunorm, Calman, Phillips Milk of Magnesia, Digoxin, Agrastat, Imuran, Aldosterin, Aldomet, Indocid, Kwell and Zyloric. Aspen Pharma Brazil also has a line of hospital products including Eutropin, Cellexina, Aldosterin, Formet and others.
Focusing on business development, the company has an ongoing expansion plan. Aspen Pharma Brazil’s CEO, Alexander France, states: "For 2015, the company intends to expand the production capacity and the infrastructure in Sierra. In addition, we have plans to invest in the sector and launch a new phytotherapeutic product at the end of the year."
GROWTH AND QUALITY
The grand growth strategy is to acquire major brands. In August 2012, Aspen Pharma Brazil commercialized Phillips Milk of Magnesia, Kwell and Nedax, formerly controlled by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
To control operation quality the company invests in a process of improvement. "In a recent continuous improvement project, we achieved a 40 percent reduction of time spent in one of the stages of the manufacturing process. This resulted in the optimization of productive capacity," explains the CEO.
Above all, the plant meets all programs required by legislation, including good manufacturing practices, medicine and occupational health, accident prevention and health care waste management. France highlights the recycling project adopted by Aspen Pharma Brazil: "Still as part of incentive programs to improve quality of life and social and environmental responsibility, we promote the selective collection of waste and recycling".
PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
Aspen Pharma Brazil provides several incentive and training programs to its employees. “Breakfast with the President" provides an opportunity to chat with the CEO. Workers are encouraged to offer opinions, state complaints and give praise. On "Happy Friday" offices close at 3:00 p.m. so employees can get home earlier, avoid traffic, pick children up from school, and so forth.
"To evaluate and strengthen the qualifications of our staff we have the Training and Development Program. ‘Talent Scout’ is our internal recruitment program that seeks to identify, recognize and value the human resources of Aspen Pharma," explains France.
Aspen Pharma Brazil completes Performance Appraisal Plans—a tool to identify and coach within the company, because it’s always concerned with the quality and opinion of the entire team. There is also the reward and recognition program, "Thanks," which aims to recognize and promote new ideas, attitudes, resilience and dedication.
Aspen Pharma Brazil is proud about ending the fiscal year 2012-2013 with R 170 million in revenues and an increase of 42 percent in sales. The CEO adds that corporate recognition is important but not as much as access to health. "The company spares no efforts to contribute in all countries where it operates. Sustainability and distribution of medicines are among the most important issues for the lab. To this end, Aspen increasingly provides a diverse range of high quality products and affordable prices ," he concludes.