Timmo Andersen, general manager of Boehringer Ingelheim in Spain, explains how the affiliate has managed to achieve market-leading growth rates, the challenges and opportunities of the Spanish pharma market, and why BI is investing heavily in a new facility in Spain.   Boehringer Ingelheim in Spain grew an impressive 9 percent last year, clearly outstripping any of the other top 10 companies ranked by market share. What is the secret of this success? Absolutely. The Spanish affiliate has enjoyed two to three very good years for the human pharma business. This year’s performance looks decent too and will continue that development path trajectory. We’ve actually entered an unprecedented phase for the company, having launched more products in the past four years than in the entire decade before. Given our stature as a mid-cap, you could even argue that we have over-performed: launching 6-7 molecules and 10 indications within the space of 3-4 years constitutes really operating at the limit. Our ambitious target was to expand the local business from a 300 million euros operation to 400 million by 2020 and we are already well ahead of schedule in reaching that objective. I would also like to draw attention to the fact that we have grown not only on the financial side – through a substantial increase in turnover and sales – but equally in terms of enhanced capabilities and human capital.

"We’ve actually entered an unprecedented phase for the company, having launched more products in the past four years than in the entire decade before"