“Cinfa employs 2,281 people, of which 1,230 are in Navarra“, highlights the president of the group, Enrique Ordieres Sagarmínaga. When asked to describe his company in figures, he begins with its staff. “First of all, I always like to talk about our professionals who occupy highly qualified positions, more than 90% have an indefinite contract and 54% are women,” he details. This team has worked to launch the new Neo plant in Olloki that allows production capacity to double, reaching 200 million medications annually. In 2024, it plans to invoice 740 million, 8.7% more. It leads the pharmaceutical market in Spain in units and values; and 29% of sales come from abroad. It reaches more than one hundred countries: the Middle East, Central America, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Europe – especially France and Italy – “We compete against global monsters with the values applied in these 55 years of history: transparency, quality and closeness. What sets us apart is that we reinvest 80% of our results, which shows our commitment to this long-term project,” he emphasizes.
The current strategic plan that began in 2019 concludes. Are you satisfied with these years?
Yes, although I would describe them as complex due to the pandemic and other milestones such as the increase in raw material and energy costs. But we have a responsibility: to be the company that makes the most medications available to patients in the State. This stage culminates with the start-up of the Neo drug production plant in Olloki. In November 2019 we approved its construction, which ultimately involved an investment of 40 million. We modified the initial project six times, and some changes occurred due to needs that we detected that were not covered in critical scenarios such as the pandemic.
What have we learned from covid?
I think we have all realized that we must focus on manufacturing in our own country to respond quickly to new needs and complex situations such as the pandemic. Given this reflection, in our case, we chose to expand the Neo plant and provide it with more content and capacity. You have to have slack and flexibility in manufacturing to serve patients. We distribute 1,500 medications on the market; and if we talk about the group we rise to 6,000 presentations.
Is Grupo Cinfa immersed in the preparation of its new strategy?
Yes, in these months we are preparing the next plan for the period 2024-2029. We are going to continue investing heavily, in line with our philosophy. We have planned a disbursement of 265 million euros for daily activity. But we are always open to looking for new opportunities in Spain or in other countries, as happened in 2017 when acquiring three companies. In short, these 265 million are separate from any other exceptional operation that may arise.
What role does R&D play in your company?
It is key for all our products: we always look for solutions with scientific evidence and demanding criteria. Therefore, in the last decade we have invested 191 million euros for this purpose. Our team is made up of more than 110 professionals, mainly distributed between Olloki and Areta, although there is also a center in Alcalá de Henares. They work to put medicines on the market in the medium and long term, since the launch of a generic takes between three and five years.
How many drugs do you work on in the R&D department?
In 25 drugs simultaneously. Every year we place one hundred products on the market, including preparations, health items, nutrition or dermocosmetics.
Will the new plan generate jobs?
Yes, although I cannot give a forecast. Cinfa has created jobs every year for the last 25 years, even in the most difficult moments of crises. For example, 160 people will work at the Neo plant, of which half are new hires; And we use artificial intelligence and all processes are automated and digitalized. But to grow you have to incorporate human capital.
The pharmaceutical sector has increased its weight in the last decade. Does Cinfa have problems finding profiles?
We may all have certain difficulties, but we are already a recognized and attractive brand in a high-tech and high-value sector. Last year InfoJobs surveyed 120,000 companies, and workers or applicants chose the best company to carry out their activity. Cinfa ranked 24th in the State; led the ranking in the health sector in Spain; and came first in all sectors in Navarra.
Does taxation stop a person from choosing Cinfa and Navarra as a work destination?
It is a handicap for certain levels of jobs, but Navarra and Cinfa offer other attractions. I do not know of any case in the company that has rejected a job offer due to tax matters, but it is presented as a barrier. The Foral Community is losing competitiveness in this aspect.
But if no one has rejected a job offer due to taxation in your company, why do you insist on that difficulty?
Cinfa seeks the growth of its teams so that they later occupy management positions, that is, we are committed to local talent. For this reason, it has never had to incorporate a CEO from Germany, for example. But if you are in the position of hiring this profile from outside Navarra, you may not be able to get the signing due to this taxation.
So, is it advisable to reform taxation?
I’m talking about looking for intelligent solutions to attract talent, such as modifying personal income tax or the wealth tax, among other proposals. Navarra must take advantage of its fiscal autonomy and not tighten the rope because it may break. There must be a balance to keep companies and their staff in the Community.
Why did the Ministry’s Strategic Plan for the Pharmaceutical Industry arise?
This initiative is promoted after the preparation of the new European pharmaceutical strategy to tackle the loss of competitiveness compared to the US, China and India. Before, more than 50% of new medicines came from Europe, but not anymore. The EU defends guaranteeing access to medicines for patients and promoting local industry; and reflects on what countries can do to continue leading pharmaceutical activity in the world. Spain has 174 medicine plants, a value to be maintained and enhanced.
What do you expect from this plan?
We are expectant and worried. In a sector that is so regulated and so complex because research, development and manufacturing times are long, we ask for and need a stable, predictable and secure framework. We must respect the patent times and the moment the generic enters the market, and we cannot be changing prices every month. There is still much to discuss.
Does the entry of foreign competition lower drug prices?
In addition to the fact that this sector regulates the price, now any presentation can reduce the price every month, mainly competitors from China and India. On the board, we must all play with the same cards, and we will have to value our contribution to the country. If the Indian drug supplier fails, is the local company there to fill that gap? Well, it shouldn’t be just for that situation. Europe and Spain are working to modify the pricing system within the framework of this strategic plan.
What would be your proposal on drug prices?
The average price of Cinfa medicines is 3.7 euros. There are some drugs that should have decent prices. It cannot be that a medicine in which we find the entire value chain – including pharmacies – costs 90 cents to consume in a month. 51% of the generics marketed in Spain have a price of less than 1.6 euros. In short, a floor price must be established.
If this situation is not corrected, what could it lead to?
We can jeopardize the correct supply of certain medications and the capacity of the plants. We are talking about high-value medications that if they are not available, we must look for alternatives that may be more expensive.
Does it already occur in some medications?
There are multinationals that are beginning to prioritize other countries to distribute their products, because the price is more profitable than in Spain.
So… what is the solution?
A floor price for any medicine, with a certain period to give stability to the sector. We are aware that the generic market favors competition and access to medicines for citizens; But we must avoid pushing the pricing system to its limits because it may no longer be sustainable. Now they are forcing me to manufacture some medicines priced below production costs.
Cinfa is committed to entrepreneurship, What does it contribute to the pharmaceutical industry?
Three years ago we launched an innovation platform called Cinfa Next, which allows us to be in all communities to support many entrepreneurs with valuable ideas and projects through our knowledge and economic support. The success rate is not very high, but valuable projects come out. We have reviewed more than 300 initiatives related to topics such as longevity, chronicity or natural solutions with scientific evidence, etc.
What role does Cinfa have in the Navarra Health Cluster?
Its president, Alicia López de Ocáriz, already belongs to our team. In all projects in the pharmaceutical sector in Navarra, our company always participates in the origin. We are a small community with a good connection between everyone who makes up the health sector, something that I consider a differential value. We must all collaborate, and many companies that operate in Navarra come from spin-off of Cinfa, that is, companies created by pharmaceutical workers.