The Chiesi Research Centre celebrates its 10th anniversary. The Group’s main research hub covers 20,000 square metres, a building which was inaugurated in October 2011 in Parma following a €90 million investment.
The Centre houses 638 people, 498 of whom are researchers. Worldwide Chiesi employs 628 researchers (64% of which are women), working in Parma and 6 other Chiesi research centres in France, the US, Canada, China, the UK and Sweden. Scientific research forms the basis for the activities of the Group, which invested €448 million in R&D in 2020, a sum representing more than 20% of its turnover. As an indication of its success, more than 75% of sales is the result from Chiesi’s own R&D. Also, Chiesi is the top Italian pharmaceutical company in terms of registered patents.
The Research Centre provides 200 spaces in laboratories, 224 in offices, 117 in open-plan workstations as well as 50 meeting rooms, an auditorium and 2 high-tech production departments, and currently has a total of 45 R&D projects underway. It houses preclinical and clinical research activities, as well as those concerning pharmaceutical development, regulatory, quality assurance, pharmacovigilance and all the other functions needed to support the work in R&D.
Chiesi Farmaceutici, which is a Benefit Corporation and the largest B Corp certified international pharmaceutical group, has been working to constantly improve on the sustainability of all its production sites over the years via the “Better Building” programme. This has been aimed at ensuring people’s wellbeing and that of the community, in addition to safeguarding the health of the planet.
As a result, the Research Centre was awarded LEED Gold certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) at the end of 2020. This acknowledgment is promoted by the Green Building Council and issued by the US GBCI (Green Business Certification Inc.), which assesses the energy efficiency and carbon footprint of buildings.
“Our Research Centre has always meant such a lot to Chiesi and it continues to do so. Before it was built, research activities were carried out in different locations, and since its inauguration, our researchers have finally been able to work together on a single site, in a centre that has quickly become a place where ideas blossom – comments Paolo Chiesi, Vice President of Chiesi Group -. Ten years on, I am proud that this building has become a key hub of scientific innovation within the Italian and international panorama. Today, it is our job to continue attracting talents worldwide by ensuring increasing flexibility, in order to transform the Chiesi Research Centre into a global innovation hub”.
The Chiesi Group
Based in Parma, Italy, Chiesi is an international research-focused pharmaceutical and healthcare group with over 85 years’ experience, operating in 30 countries with more than 6,000 employees (Chiesi Group). To achieve its mission of improving people’s quality of life by acting responsibly towards society and the environment, the Group researches, develops and markets innovative therapeutic solutions in its three focus areas: AIR (products and services that promote respiration, from new-born to adult populations), RARE (treatment for patients with rare and ultra-rare diseases) and CARE (products and services that support specialty care and consumer-facing self-care). The Group’s Research and Development centre is based in Parma and works alongside six other important research and development hubs in France, the U.S., Canada, China, the UK and Sweden to pursue its pre-clinical, clinical and regulatory programmes. In 2018 Chiesi changed its legal status to Benefit Corporation, according to the law in Italy, the USA and, more recently, in France, by incorporating common benefit objectives into its bylaws, to generate value for its business, for the society and the environment. Since 2019, Chiesi has been the world’s largest B Corp certified pharmaceutical group. B Corps are global leaders committed to using business as a force for good. Moreover, as a Benefit Corporation, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. is required by law to report annually in a transparent way about its progress in achieving the common benefits objectives it has incorporated. The Group is committed to becoming carbon neutral by the end of 2035.
