Pharma manager Kurt Teubner starts his own company CHEPLAPHARM in Freiburg, taking its name from CHEPLAREN^®, one of the first products in its portfolio.

The Company, now generating an annual turnover of over EUR 600,000, is acquired by the BRAUN family and its headquarters relocated to Mesekenhagen near the Baltic coast. 

Sebastian F. Braun takes the position of CEO, and the Company realigns its focus to “Specialty pharma meets M&A competence”.

CHEPLAPHARM takes over the products Caye^® and Talidat^® from Medopharm and Merck Group.

CHEPLAPHARM takes over the products Aldactone^®, Lanitop^® and Isomonat^® in Austria from F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel. 

Effective April, CHEPLAPHARM takes over the products Ky-Cor F sugar-coated tablets, Ky-Cor Novo film-coated tablets and Ky Thermopack from Merck Group.

CHEPLAPHARM reaches an annual turnover of EUR 3m, thus doubling its previous year figure. 

Takeover of the product Aponal^® in Germany from F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel.

CHEPLAPHARM acquires the product Aquaphor^® from Eli Lilly in May. 

In June, CHEPLAPHARM obtains the rights for the product Gelusil Lac^® from global pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. 

CHEPLAPHARM takes over Walter Ritter GmbH & Co. KG, a long-established pharmaceutical company in Hamburg, thus expanding its portfolio to include, among other things, cold sprays, which are used in particular to treat sports injuries. 

With almost EUR 8m, the Company far exceeds its sales target. This is the highest increase in turnover so far, making 2008 the most successful year since CHEPLAPHARM’s inception.

CHEPLAPHARM continues on its growth trajectory. Six more products are included in its portfolio: Terra Bio Chemie GmbH’s PC 30^® product series, Baldrian Dispert^® – one of the best known and most widely used German valerian products against restlessness and sleep disorders by Vemedia Manufacturing BV (The Netherlands), the minerals supplements CalciAPS D3, Magnesium Tonil^® Mono and Magnesium Tonil® plus Vitamin E by ProStrakan and Apsomol^® N – a medicinal product by Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG, Karlsruhe.

September – CHEPLAPHARM takes over Distraneurin^®/Heminevrin^® from Swedish-British pharmaceuticals corporation AstraZeneca, expanding its presence in a number of European countries. This product generates a turnover in the tens of millions of euros and marks an important milestone in CHEPLAPHARM’s further internationalisation efforts.

In July, CHEPLAPHARM diversifies its portfolio further, acquiring the rights for a product range comprising Bactisubtil^® complex, Enelbin^® Paste, Eryfer^® 100 and Eryfer® comp and Thuringian herbal tinctures from Klosterfrau GmbH, a long-standing manufacturer of OTC pharmaceutical products. 

Thanks to our successful acquisition strategy, the Company has an uninterrupted streak of double-digit percentage turnover growth since 2003 with exports accounting for over 50 percent.

Jens Rothstein takes the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO). 

Acquisition of all the shares in Sanavita Pharmaceuticals in Werne. 

In March, CHEPLAPHARM opens its new logistics centre in Neuenkirchen near Greifswald. 

December – CHEPLAPHARM continues its path towards internationalisation: Taking over the worldwide rights for Vesanoid^® and Rohypnol^® from F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, we significantly strengthen our position as a niche supplier and expand our territorial presence to over 100 countries worldwide.

Bianca Y. Juha, sister of Sebastian F. Braun (CEO), takes the role of Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). 

In September, CHEPLAPHARM acquires the rights for Germany to Reisegold^® tabs against travel sickness and Halbmond^® tablets for short-term treatment of sleep disorders from Teva GmbH. 

Together with its subsidiaries, CHEPLAPHARM has an annual turnover of EUR 60m. With the number of employees increasing to over 70, CHEPLAPHARM makes an important contribution to the development of the region.

January – The acquisition of all the shares in Glenwood LLC, a New York based US company, and the acquisition of the US rights for the urological product Potaba^® mark another milestone in the Company’s history. This acquisition is an important step towards the further expansion of our distribution activities and the internationalisation of our niche products. 

CHEPLAPHARM secures worldwide rights for Potaba^®. 

Edeltraud Lafer takes the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO). She brings over 25 years of experience in the international pharmaceutical business, making her a perfect addition to the management team. 

CHEPLAPHARM strengthens its European presence, in particular, with the acquisition of the UDCA products Deursil^®/Ursolvan^® and a number of well-established OTC products from Sanofi. 

At the end of the year, CHEPLAPHARM Arznei-mittel GmbH moves into its new home, an impressive new building in the Ziegelhof commercial area on the outskirts of the Hanseatic City of Greifswald. This ensures the wellbeing and efficient collaboration of our staff of currently 74 employees.

At the beginning of the year, CHEPLAPHARM acquires the logistics centre of RIEMSER Arzneimittel GmbH in Greifswald. 

In January, we purchase the product Streptosil^® from Boehringer Ingelheim, thereby expanding our Italian portfolio. CHEPLAPHARM also secures the rights for the two antihypertensive products Dopegyt^® and Pertenso^®, the pain reliever Octadon^®, and Cotazym^®, a product used to aid digestion, for the German market from UCB Pharma GmbH. 

In November, CHEPLAPHARM strengthens its presence in the Italian market by its successful acquisition of the prescription product Aldactone^® from Sanofi, thus reinforcing its international growth strategy.

Right at the beginning of the year, CHEPLAPHARM secures the product rights for Anexate^® from F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel. Anexate^® allows CHEPLAPHARM to exploit important strategic synergies with Rohypnol^®, which was already acquired in 2012, and complements our portfolio in the group of sedatives. Our export share thus increases to approx. 80 percent. 

Contracts relating to the worldwide rights for the anti-obesity product Xenical^® and the beta blocker Dilatrend^® are signed in late September, and the transaction relating to Xenical^® closes immediately thereafter on 30 September 2016. The transaction relating to Dilatrend^® closes in early January 2017. This EUR 340m transaction is the most significant one since the inception of CHEPLAPHARM and is regarded as the biggest private sector investment in the region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. 

CHEPLAPHARM ends the year with a turnover total of EUR 121m, making it one of the biggest medium-sized pharmaceutical companies in Germany. The number of employees increases to 120.

The transaction relating to Dilatrend^® closes in mid-January. 

From August, CHEPLAPHARM starts distributing the pharmaceutical product Mysimba^® in Germany, France and Austria on the basis of a marketing and distribution agreement with Orexigen Therapeutics Ltd. This prescription product is a perfect complement to Xenical^®, an anti-obesity product acquired back in 2016. 

September – CHEPLAPHARM’s staff reaches over 150 employees from twelve nationalities. This is an important contribution to the local economy and to the employment situation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. 

As per 1 December 2017, CHEPLAPHARM adds the OTC product Calcivit D^®/Calcivit D^® Forte by German generics manufacturer Hexal AG to its portfolio. 

With an annual turnover of EUR 223m in 2017, CHEPLAPHARM sees another sharp increase.

The transaction with F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG relating to the virostatic Cymevene^® closes on 2 January 2018. 

CHEPLAPHARM continues its growth by taking over the products Konakion^® MM, Lariam^® and Inhibace^®/Plus from F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG as per 3 January 2018. 

With its acquisition of the worldwide rights (except those for the US market) to the product Visudyne^® from Novartis Pharma AG of Switzerland on 15 February 2018, CHEPLAPHARM extends its activities into the field of ophthalmology. 

Since its inception, CHEPLAPHARM has consistently pursued a successful growth strategy. This development continues in 2018, pushing the number of CHEPLAPHARM’s staff to 200 as per June. 

CHEPLAPHARM secures the rights for Atacand^® and Atacand^® Plus in 28 European markets from AstraZeneca. The contract is signed in July and due to close in late September. 

Effective August, CHEPLAPHARM acquires the worldwide rights for Questran^®, thus intensifying its successful cooperation with Bristol-Myers Squibb. 

September – CHEPLAPHARM continues its successful expansion strategy with the acquisition of three more global niche products: Fungizone^®, Vepesid^® and Etopophos^®. Its partnership and professional cooperation with Bristol-Myers Squibb is further strengthened by this transaction. 

As per October, the Company relocates its official headquarters from Mesekenhagen to Greifswald, where it has had most of its offices in a modern new building in the Ziegelhof commercial area. The extension building at the existing site is slated for completion by the end of 2019 and will provide sufficient space in modern, well-equipped offices for our employees now having risen to approx. 250 as at December 2018. 

CHEPLAPHARM ends a very successful year 2018 with the launch of another major project: As from the closing in January 2019, it adds the two pharmaceutical products Dormicum^® and Lexotan^® by F. Hoffmann-La Roche to its well diversified portfolio.

March – Coinciding with the beginning of spring, CHEPLAPHARM holds the traditional topping-out ceremony for the extension building at its site in the Hanseatic City of Greifswald (Ziegelhof). This new building provides an additional 5,300 square metres of office space for our fast-growing Company. It is a visible sign both of our success and of our commitment to Greifswald as the home of our Company. 

In May, CHEPLAPHARM is awarded the “Axia Best Managed Companies Award” (Axia BMC Award), thus ranking and being recognised as one of the best managed companies in Germany in 2019. 

In late September, CHEPLAPHARM acquires the worldwide commercial rights – except those for the Chinese, Japanese, US and Mexican markets – for the well-known brand product Losec^®. With this investment, we strengthen our relationship with AstraZeneca and continue to pursue our business model geared towards international markets. 

In Q4, AstraZeneca and CHEPLAPHARM agree on the transfer of the commercial rights for Seroquel^® / Seroquel XR^® and other related brands in Europe (excluding the UK) and Northern America, thereby adding another well-established global brand product to CHEPLAPHARM’s product portfolio.

At the beginning of the year, CHEPLAPHARM places a high-yield bond in the international bond market for the first time in a move to optimise the financing structure of the Company further and make it more diverse and secure in the long term. 

February – The extension building at the CHEPLAPHARM headquarters in Greifswald (Ziegelhof) is ready to move into. The new building has a functional and elegant style and offers 5,300 square metres of offices and workspaces equipped to lthe atest standards for our employees, who now number more than 320. 

For the second time in a row, CHEPLAPHARM is awarded the prestigious “Axia Best Managed Companies Award” in May. 

With the acquisition of a total of 25 different brand products in October 2019 and late May 2020, we drive the diversification of our product portfolio further. 

October – CHEPLAPHARM places (the equivalent of) EUR 1bn with institutional investors. Through this high-yield bond, we fund the acquisition of several product portfolios in the therapy fields of cardiology, epilepsy, dermatology and hypertension in the following months. 

In the fourth quarter of the year, CHEPLAPHARM maintains its impressive pace as it completes further attractive projects. These include, among other things, 12 brand products for the treatment of cardiological conditions which are distributed in the European markets. 

CHEPLAPHARM also successfully completes the first project with its new partner LEO Pharma, a pharmaceutical company from Denmark. This project relates to four well-established patent-free brand products for the therapy fields of dermatology, gynaecology and calcium metabolism. 

CHEPLAPHARM has held the rights for Atacand^® and Atacand^® Plus in 28 European markets since 2018. Now it also acquires the global rights (except those for the US market) for these two products from AstraZeneca. 

CHEPLAPHARM’s biggest transaction to date is the acquisition of a large number of brand products for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, sleep disorders and many other conditions from Japanese giant Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. These products are distributed mainly in the European markets. 

This is an impressive continuation of CHEPLAPHARM’s success in previous years.

CHEPLAPHARM kicks off the new year with the transfer of the commercial rights for Rivotril^® from F. Hoffmann-La Roche. 

Edeltraud Lafer, our COO (Chief Operating Officer) since 2014, hands her position to Patrick König, hitherto Global Sales Director, effective 1 March 2021. At the same time, the Company introduces a dual leadership structure with Edeltraud Lafer and Sebastian F. Braun as co-CEOs, thus putting a clear focus for its future on business development. 

The Management team is expanded further with the addition of Dr. Keyarasch “Kia” Parssanedjad, M.D., as Chief Corporate Investment Officer (CIO) to the Management Board as of 1 April 2021.

February – Jens Rothstein hands over his CFO role to Kia Parssanedjad, former Chief Corporate Investment Officer (CIO) of CHEPLAPHARM Arzneimittel GmbH. 

This change in leadership follows CHEPLAPHARM‘s resilient development in 2021 and the successful issuance of a new term loan facility of EUR 1,480 million at the beginning of 2022 in a tense capital market environment. 

March – CHEPLAPHARM acquires the chemotherapeutical medicinal products Hydrea^®, Taxol^® and Paraplatin^® from Bristol Myers Squibb. 

Furthermore, CHEPLAPHARM acquires the products Xeloda^® and Valcyte^® from Roche and six products from Sanofi into the company’s portfolio, which are distributed in more than 15 countries. 

December – Patrick König hands over his responsibility for the operational business to his successor Klaus Köhl (COO). Patrick König initially joined the company in 2018 as Director of Global Sales and made a significant contribution to building the company into a leading international pharmaceutical platform.

January – CHEPLAPHARM acquires the commercial rights to Xeloda^® for the Chinese market from F. Hoffmann-La Roche. CHEPLAPHARM had already acquired the global rights (excluding Japan and China) for the highly effective antineoplastic agent at the beginning of 2022. 

March – CHEPLAPHARM acquires another product from AstraZeneca in the USA, Pulmicort Flexhaler^®. 

May – With CHEPLAPHARM K.K. and CHEPLAPHARM Schweiz GmbH, the CHEPLAPHARM Group expands its presence at two locations in the important markets of Japan and Switzerland. 

Also in May, CHEPLAPHARM completes the worldwide commercialisation of Xeloda^® by securing the commercial rights for the drug in Japan. 

July – With a total purchase price of around EUR 1.3 billion, CHEPLAPHARM completes the largest transaction in the company’s history to date and acquires the entire Zyprexa^® product portfolio from Eli Lilly and Company.

January - CHEPLAPHARM acquires the commercial rights for Myocet^®, a medication for the first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer, from Teva UK Limited and the global rights for Roaccutane^® for the treatment of severe acne from F. Hoffmann-La Roche. 

February - House 6, the newest building on the campus in Greifswald, is completed. It offers space for up to 200 colleagues on 4,000 square metres and is a low-energy building that fulfils the latest German energy standard EG40EE. 

April - Caroline Jacquin takes over the management of the subsidiary CHEPLAPHARM France, based in Levallois-Perret. The previous Managing Director of CHEPLAPHARM France, Isabelle Dalle, retires. 

May - CHEPLAPHARM expands its oncology portfolio with the worldwide rights of Tarceva^® from F. Hoffmann-La Roche for the treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. 

July - CHEPLAPHARM prepares for the future and reorganises its management. Artem Gevorkyan takes over the newly created position of Senior Vice President (SVP) Corporate Business Development for the entire CHEPLAPHARM Group. As Vice President (VP) Supply Chain & Logistics, Karl Lang is also responsible for this area for the entire CHEPLAPHARM Group. 

November - Sebastian Braun is awarded ‘EY Entrepreneur of the Year’ in the ‘Family Business’ category and will represent Germany at the ‘EY World Entrepreneur of the Year’ in Monte Carlo in 2025. 

December - CHEPLAPHARM further strengthens its oncology portfolio with the acquisition of the worldwide rights (except South Korea) of Gemzar^®. The medication from Eli Lilly and Company is a proven chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of various types of cancer.

January - CHEPLAPHARM expands its management team with Tamás Szóga as Vice President (VP) Commercial, who in this role is responsible for the sales organisation of the entire CHEPLAPHARM Group.