Polpharma Group is the leading manufacturer of drugs in Poland and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Central and Eastern Europe. For more than 80 years, it has been a trusted source of high-quality pharmaceuticals, with a portfolio of 600 products and another 200 currently in development.
Polpharma Biologics, the dedicated biopharmaceuticals division of Polpharma Group, was established with significant investment in new large molecule capabilities and supporting infrastructure. With the additional acquisition of the leading cell line development provider, Bioceros, Polpharma Biologics gained the full spectrum of capabilities necessary to develop, manufacture and commercialize novel biologics and biosimilars. The company is continuing to grow with ongoing investments in facilities, including construction of a new large-scale modular drug substance and drug product plant in Duchnice, near Warsaw, set to open in early 2020.
The scientific team at Polpharma Biologics operates in three complementary capacities. In addition to supporting customers’ biopharmaceutical development programs as a fully integrated CDMO, the company also develops biosimilars and novel biologics both alone and within joint ventures, with a current pipeline of six biosimilar products in varying preclinical and clinical phases and a new biologic entity (NBE) in early development.
The go-to-market strategy for Polpharma Biologics is multifaceted as the company looks to fill a lot of new CDMO capacity at its Gdańsk and Duchnice facilities, while also engaging strategic partners interested in investing in the development and commercialization of biosimilars and NBEs. First and foremost, however, the business needs to grow its brand awareness in the biopharmaceuticals segment, and a new website clearly defining core capabilities and values was a prerequisite, as it’s the 24/7 information and brand hub for any business.
When creating a sub-brand and focusing on the need to build equity, striking the right balance between drawing on the name recognition of the parent organization and focus-ing on the differentiation of the standalone entity can be a challenge. Extensive market research is recommended to understand the audience profile and their needs in the target market. This process also benchmarks peers in the segment and highlights best practices, all of which informs a positioning and messaging strategy that marries the perceived strengths of the business with the prioritization of market needs.
With hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of branded biologics set to lose patent protection in the EU and US over the next several years, there is an unprecedented need for capable biopharmaceutical CDMOs with requisite capacity, especially if they have integrated capabilities from cell line development to commercial drug product manufacture. This is a major point of differentiation for Polpharma Biologics, combined with the fact that it offers both mammalian cell culture and microbial production.
Through Bioceros, the company has a robust track record of generating high-yield cell lines from its pro-prietary expression platform and is one of the only biopharmaceutical manufacturers able to produce drug substance and provide fill-finish of drug product from clinical to high-volume commercial scale.
This integrated offering, combined with the 80-year track record and established presence of Polpharma Group, formed the basis for a messaging strategy that emphasizes flexibility, responsiveness and innovation in all aspects of the business — responding to common themes seen in the selection criteria of companies looking to find a CDMO.
Having invested in extensive, brand new, state-of-the-art capacity in both Gdańsk and Duchnice, a completely separate challenge facing Polpharma Biologics is the need for recruitment of a large number of personnel. The company is engaged in a long-term recruitment effort aimed at attracting all levels of staff, from highly experienced experts from a marketplace historically spread across Western Europe, Asia and North America to science graduates interested in pursuing their careers upon completing bachelors, masters and doctorate-level programs.
As a result, a robust careers section was planned for the Polpharma Biologics website to support this HR effort. It highlights the attraction of joining a rap-idly growing biopharmaceuticals company, as well as region-specific benefits of living in Warsaw or Tricity, Poland. A specific content strategy was developed to target the various segments of recruitment.
For Polpharma Biologics, the new website is more than just a marketing tool — it is a significant requirement in the vision to become a trusted source of world-class biopharmaceutical products and services. With the opening of its new state-of-the-art facility in Duchnice in 2020, expansion efforts ongoing in Gdańsk and heavy recruitment required to attract top talent, the site is a conduit for the awareness and accurate perceptions required in the marketplace to enable Polpharma Biologics to achieve its goals.
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