Never stop. Grow, change and evolve, without ever ceasing to be there, for the people and the community. This is the message launched by the Company during the meeting held today at the Lugano headquarters of the IBSA Group, a multinational that – with a turnover of 700 million Swiss francs and 2,000 employees in 20 branches around the world – is present with its products in 10 therapeutic areas, over 80 Countries and 5 continents.
An appointment created to present and narrate the idea and the development of the big CorPharma project (the new district of the Pian Scairolo hub whose beating heart is environmental and social sustainability), starting from the COSMOS production plant.
“For IBSA, 2021 marks 36 years of success and satisfaction, crowned by a constant growth and excellent results. And this thanks to the dedication, professionalism and team spirit of our associates, as shown also in these unprecedented and complex months”, said Arturo Licenziati, President, CEO and Founder of IBSA. “The pandemic has not stopped the Company’s will to invest; indeed, we intend to always be there for our patients and the communities in which we operate. We are here, close to people: this is in fact the message we are launching today, a promise that is also being kept through the great development project of the sustainable CorPharma district”.
Located between the municipalities of Lugano and Collina d’Oro, the CorPharma industrial district occupies a total area of 43,000 square meters. The district is home to the General Management, the Foundations, the Commercial Management and the Research and Development division. With its current investment of 150 million francs, CorPharma will in actual fact become IBSA’s major production centre.
The path of sustainability integrated into the social, environmental and economic dimension is the one in which the Group has decided to believe, by investing in and for the territory, starting from Ticino, but with a view that goes far beyond the Swiss borders.
“Our long-term vision is reflected in all the Group’s activities. Over the past 36 years, more than 800 million francs have been invested in production infrastructures, intangible assets and acquisitions that have created the conditions for the development of the business, with a great impact on the allied activities, which in turn generated a wealth redistributed and shared with the community. A smooth and uniform growth, also driven by our R&D activities, an area where the Group invests on average 8% of its turnover. With the CorPharma district, the conditions are created not only to continue developing the business, but also to pursue the goal of offering better working conditions and new opportunities to our people and their families”, explains Antonio Melli, Chief Financial Officer, IBSA Group. “The renovation of COSMOS is an example of this approach: cutting-edge technological solutions applied to existing infrastructures, the ability to transform and recover spaces and facilities, creating a positive impact on the redevelopment of the urban fabric and on the quality of life”.
With a total area of 16,200 square meters – equal to 3 football fields – COSMOS is IBSA’s largest production plant.
“Continuous exchange, circularity and sharing – the featuring elements of the CorPharma district (a truly sustainable quarter) – are also found in the production plant, where sustainability, innovation and beauty are perfectly combined”, explained the Group’s Architect, Christophe Direito. “We have paid great attention to the sustainability of materials, emphasising green as a predominant element in order to promote the conservation of biodiversity in natural spaces and the creation of a “vertical green” and an “educational garden”, with the cultivation of indigenous medicinal herbs. All this will be available to the local community: a nursery and kindergarten, places dedicated to free time, play, recreational and creative activities, spaces for education and culture”.
“COSMOS is not just a production facility. It’s made of innovation, state-of-the-art production technology and the great skills of the people working there”, affirmed Enrico Gasperotti, Head of IBSA Group’s production plants. “The renovation of the building was characterised by absolute modernity: production lines are managed by technologically advanced, automated and interconnected systems, in line with the latest industry 4.0 requirements. This allows us to have precise control of the systems and processes, thus ensuring the highest quality standards of the drugs we produce, which translates into an even greater safety for patients”.
Efficiency and optimisation, quality and precision will therefore guide the activity of the plant, which will start with 3 production lines – already tested, validated and currently being approved by the regulatory authorities – at full capacity at the beginning of 2022, with the production of thyroid hormones at a rate that will generate 240 million therapeutic doses per year, employing over 250 people for all on-site productions.
In conceiving the CorPharma district and during the total renewal of COSMOS, great importance was given to the aesthetics and functionality of the elements, thinking above all of the comfort of the people who work there. It is precisely with this approach that today IBSA’s production spaces and offices – where high standards are adopted, for the well-being and good liveability of work environments – are created, in Switzerland, in Italy and in the rest of the world.
“Creating a space in which to live and work well means creating the conditions to improve productivity, the quality of work, the atmosphere and the spirit of the employees, activating a virtuous circle which benefits everyone”, concluded Virginio Cattaneo, Head of Human Resources, IBSA Group. “This whole process is part of IBSA’s evolution and growth, which has not stopped despite the pandemic and, on the contrary, has continued to create jobs, maintaining a positive hiring trend throughout the Group, whose workforce today exceeds 2,000 people”.
The sustainability and innovation path started by IBSA will soon continue in Italy, particularly in the Lodi (Milan) headquarters. Here, too, a large renovation project has been planned for the buildings and the social and urban context in which the company operates. The Italian branch already has a 15 million euro investment plan in place, also aimed at the implementation of new production lines, as well as the acquisition of increasingly sophisticated machinery, at the service of an innovative and high-precision production.
The CorPharma project
The CorPharma project finds its origins in a dream born twenty years ago: a large area that can host all the four main activities of the pharmaceutical business – General Management, Foundations, Research & Development and Production & Warehouse – and that, at the same time, meets the sustainable construction standards, blending gracefully into the territory and the social context.
The district – which will spring up in the Pian Scairolo hub, the largest industrial commercial sector in the Canton Ticino, straddling the municipalities of Lugano and Collina d’Oro – will be divided into quadrangular blocks, introducing a concept of intrinsic continuity, since it incorporates the urban planning grid adopted by the Romans in the construction of their cities.
IBSA’s approach is to transform the existing in order to find better solutions, while offering benefits and well-being to people and communities, restoring value to future generations. The whole project, in fact, is focused on sustainable territorial planning – benefiting from existing infrastructures –and aimed at promoting the recovery and transformation of spaces, without neglecting the positive impact on the redevelopment of the urban fabric and the quality of life.
Always attentive to the needs of the Person, the company has in fact planned several social responsibility ideas and projects, aimed at bringing tangible benefits not only to its employees, but also to the local community, through the availability of services and activities that are open to and usable by everyone. Among these, the creation of spaces dedicated to free time, play and leisure and creative activities, transferring the Nido Primi Passi and opening a nursery school, as well as developing initiatives dedicated to education and culture, conceived to meet the needs of the next generations.
