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Case Study

Zentiva: Growing into a regional pharmaceutical powerhouse

By David Bach, Niccolò Pisani and Lisa Simone Duke

19 pages

March 2022

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Reference: IMD-7-2270

By 2021, Zentiva relied on an internationally diversified network of manufacturing sites, ensuring the production and supply of medicines to millions of people in Europe and beyond. Employing more than 2,300 employees in its wholly owned sites, primarily in Eastern Europe, Zentiva produced medicines that were sold in more than 40 countries. Against the backdrop of changes in the pharma industry – particularly in Europe and in the leading generics market players, which were focused on gaining scale to reduce manufacturing and distribution costs – Zentiva had bold ambitions to become a leading generics and over-the-counter (OTC) manufacturer in Europe by 2025. How could Zentiva derive the benefits of the transformational trends that were impacting pharma players around the world? In view of the changes characterizing the European landscape, would an almost exclusive focus on Eastern Europe be the optimal international growth strategy for the company going forward?

Learning Objective

Analyze the extent to which the pharmaceutical industry is transforming itself and how this is creating new opportunities and challenges for incumbents such as Zentiva
Analyze the extent to which international expansion can be instrumental in Zentiva’s growth and success in the marketplace
Explore how companies such as Zentiva can create value via their international footprint
Explore strategy in an environment characterized by a high degree of uncertainty

Keywords

Growth Strategy, International Strategy, Internationalization, Mergers and Acquisitions, Pharmaceuticals

Settings

Czech Republic
Zentiva, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals
2019-2022

Type

Published Sources

Available Languages

English

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This case study is part of a series

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