We are pleased to announce that MEDITOP Pharmaceutical Ltd. has been included in the Budapest Stock Exchange’s “BÉT50 – Fifty Hungarian Companies’ Success Stories”, a publication that presents the achievements of the most outstanding Hungarian SMEs. This recognition once again draws attention to the continuous development of our company and our commitment to innovation and excellence.
Confidence, research and development, exports
MEDITOP Pharmaceutical Ltd. has been able to stand its ground in the past three decades in the face of fierce competition and turbulent market conditions.The company, based on trust-based relationships, was set on an upward path by its own research and development, and then helped to grow by expanding into export markets. This is how the company became one of Hungary’s leading, 100% Hungarian-owned pharmaceutical companies.
MEDITOP’s story, like that of so many Hungarian businesses, began in the 1990s. However, the life of the pharmaceutical company in Pest county is far from ordinary.
Dr. Zoltán Ács and Dr. Dávid Greskovits, the founding owners of the company, are currently managing directors of MEDITOP Pharmaceutical Ltd.They both worked in the pharmaceutical industry before the company was established and their experience in this field gave them the opportunity to start their own business. Although the two managers went to the same university, they met in Nigeria in the early 1990s, where they took over the management of a small pharmaceutical company. Their professional relationship was based on the acquaintance they had made.
After the regime change, the Hungarian pharmaceutical industry underwent major changes and in response to the new opportunities, Dr. Dávid Greskovits and several co-owners founded MEDITOP Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Distribution Ltd., which is not the same as MEDITOP today. It was a small company operating for a limited period of time, which was followed by the establishment of a new company, MEDITOP Pharmaceutical Ltd.
Dr. Zoltán Ács returned from Nigeria in 1993 and was already involved in the operation (and eventual closure) of the smaller company, and in 1995, together with Dr. Dávid Greskovits and several other founding partners, they established the “new” MEDITOP. Shortly afterwards, they had the opportunity to buy out all the other owners, so that today the company is owned solely by Dr. Zoltán Ács and Dr. Dávid Greskovits.
In the beginning, the pharmaceutical company was exclusively involved in contract manufacturing and contract packaging. The bulk of contract manufacturing was for pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements, as well as four pharmaceutical products for which the manufacturing rights were purchased from one of the largest domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers. Most of the equipment needed for the activity was purchased second-hand from the market.
Standing on several feet
But the founders did not see the future in contract manufacturing. “The business is not sustainable in the long term if it stands on its own feet, relying solely on contract work,” says Dr. Dávid Greskovits. They recognised the need to develop their own products, but to do so they had to set up their own R&D laboratory. The R&D project was a success. Their first proprietary product was born in 1998, and this set MEDITOP Pharmaceutical Ltd. on a path of development with its ups and downs.
For the future of the company, R&D has always been of paramount importance, because it is the only way to ensure progress. Today, they have achieved a level of R&D that is competitive with any pharmaceutical company. In the meantime, they have built up close research links with the national universities. They are currently collaborating on several research projects with the University of Debrecen, Semmelweis University and the University of Pécs. MEDITOP has now registered several inventions and patent applications.
One of the keys to the company’s competitiveness has become the trust of its partners. As Dr. Zoltán Ács summarised, “As a small company, our financial situation did not necessarily give us much room for manoeuvre, but what we could show was the trust of the authorities and our partners, which we gained through consistent work.”
A milestone in the company’s history was when they won the packaging contract for a major international pharmaceutical company’s products for the Hungarian market. The two managers also seized the opportunity well. They reinvested the profits generated by the growing revenues into the company, enabling them to buy new equipment and paving the way for the production and development of new products. This was a major breakthrough, as pharmaceutical manufacturing machinery is extremely expensive to purchase.
MEDITOP subsequently purchased the land on which it was based, which had been leased until then, and has been making progress in international markets. In Germany, it had a strong track record thanks to a partnership with a German company, but this partnership was later reduced to a minimum in the latter market (mainly due to changes in the regulatory framework). However, the way was opened to Western Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and even the Far East.
The time of development
It was a time of progress. “We increased our production area by a factor of three, but there were also capacities that we quintupled, while the number of employees roughly doubled,” says Dr. Zoltán Ács. Since then, MEDITOP has grown tremendously, despite the fact that the market in which it operates is far from simple. The sector is highly competitive and has to compete against major international players. In addition, the supply of skilled labour is a major challenge, as there is also strong competition for workers between operators in the sector.
However, the challenges have not deterred the two business leaders.
Despite the turbulence of recent years, they see 2024 as a year of recovery and 2025 as a year of strong growth for MEDITOP. To date, pharmaceutical products have been registered or are currently registered in more than 40 countries. At the end of the current registration process, there will be 150-200 marketing authorisations.
They also want to further strengthen their presence on foreign markets and increase the share of exports in turnover from 20 to 30 per cent to at least 60 per cent, but preferably 80 to 90 per cent. In Uzbekistan, they are also working on an investment project and are constantly opening up to new markets, often exotic ones. And they continue to do business on the basis of building trust and ensuring high quality, which is the basis for retaining their partners and interests in the long term.
Photo: Dr. Dávid Greskovits | Managing Director, Dr. Zoltán Ács | Managing Director
The original article was published on bet50.hu Budapest Stock Exchange in “BÉT50 – Fifty Hungarian companies’ success stories” : MEDITOP Kft.