Who We Are

Swixx BioPharma was created to replace biopharma, OTC and medical device multinationals’ subsidiaries in those countries, or therapeutic areas, that our partners choose not to enter, or to exit. Over the last ten years, we have swiftly evolved into one of the largest, most professional and reliable partners in the countries of Central & Eastern Europe, Russia/Eurasia and Greece for international healthcare companies.

And we are continuing to grow. In September 2023, we opened for new opportunities in the Middle East. In May 2024, Swixx expanded to Latin America with a strategic acquisition and combination with Laboratorios Biopas SA. Through Biopas’ comprehensive Latam continental coverage, Swixx is now able to provide a compelling offering covering Central and Eastern Europe, CIS/Eurasia, MENA and Latin America.

At Swixx, we believe that every human being deserves access to the latest, evidence-based medical innovation. We are proud to have been selected by many of the world’s finest healthcare companies to bring their products to patients.  We don’t have our own portfolio (or R&D, or production) which means that we can devote 100% of our care and attention to launching our partners’ highly innovative medicines and working on improving diagnoses. We share the values of our partners in healthcare and work to the same ethical and quality standards.

More than

1,600

employees

Present in

44

countries

Achieved

> 900 m €

sales in 2023*

Serving

> 931 m

population

Operating in

148.2 bn €

pharma market

*Swixx BioPharma only

Swixx’s extraordinary growth was recently recognized by the Financial Times (FT) in their “Europe’s fastest-growing companies” award. Based on a 70,6% CAGR, Swixx ranked 9th out of all European companies in the Health Care & Life Sciences sector in 2024 FT/Statista ranking.

We see the FT’s award as a recognition of our teams’ resilience and passion to keep on unlocking access to innovative medicines for more and more patients in need. The secret of Swixx’s growth is simple: our teams consist of talented, dedicated, hard-working professionals, dedicated to improving lives of patients by ensuring access to innovative medicines of our partners. We are proud to strive to achieve “best practice” in everything we do. 

You can access the full FT 1000 report here: https://www.ft.com/ft1000-2024.

Europe’s fastest-growing companies | Recognized by Financial Times

Our History

Swixx BioPharma began operations in December 2014 and is registered in Baar, Switzerland. The company has 100%-owned affiliates in Albania, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, UAE and Uzbekistan. As of June 2024, Swixx operates in Latin America through Biopas, a Swixx BioPharma company, addressing the needs of patients in almost 20 countries in LatAm.

Both Swixx BioPharma senior management and owners come from a heritage of unique success in specialty pharmaceuticals. Dynamic business development activities and the ability to enter new markets quickly helped Swixx to achieve one of the leading positions in CEE and beyond.

Explore our History

Vision and Mission

Our vision is to become the partner of choice for biopharma companies when they choose an indirect route to market, thereby improving patient outcomes. By providing best-in-class pharma services, building on our deep industry knowledge and fostering professional and collaborative relationships with our partners, patients representatives and the entire healthcare community, we believe we can create a healthier future for all.

Our mission is to work closely with our partners and broad healthcare communities to unlock access to innovative treatments for patients in need. Our ultimate goal is to make a meaningful and lasting impact on the health of individuals and communities in the countries where we operate.

Leadership Teams

Swixx was founded by a group of experienced pharma professionals with a deep understanding of biopharma’s needs. Prior to building Swixx BioPharma in CEE, Swixx’s founders and members of its senior team had comprehensive experience in research-based companies operating across all current Swixx geographies.

Swixx’s biggest asset is our 1,600+ highly educated employees, who are dedicated to providing modern medicines to patients in need, in any market and continent where we operate.

  • Swixx Board

    Petr Němec

    Founder, Strategy

    Co-Founder PharmaSwiss, formerly GM BMS South East Europe. Previously Sr. Executive Convatec CEE & Lawyer at White & Case

    Stuart Swanson

    Chairman, Founder, Head of Corporate Development

    Co-Founder PharmaSwiss, formerly Head of Marketing at BMS CEE/Israel, GM Pfizer Russia and US Diplomat

    Barbara Košir

    NED, Board Member, Ethics & Compliance Committee Chair and Audit Committee Chair

    Formerly CFO of PharmaSwiss, prior to that held a series of key Finance positions at Coca Cola, IBM and AGIP

    Matthias Fehr, PhD

    Board Member and Member Audit Committee

    Member of Management and Head Private Equity at HBM Partners. Over twenty years of experience in private and public equity investment management and research. Former experience includes senior analyst at Lombard Odier and scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. In addition to Swixx, Board member of Sphingotec, Numab, Farmalatam and Board Observer Tata 1mg.

    Alexander Asam

    Board Observer

    More than 20 years’ experience in the life sciences and private equity business. Formerly various positions at Hoechst, Aventis and Deutsche Bank

    Marie-Justine Lecomte

    Board Member

    10 years’ experience in Private Equity and M&A specialized in healthcare transactions. Former position in investment at Gimv

    Pascal Forget

    Board Observer and Executive Regional General Manager Latam

    Founder of Laboratories Biopas with 35+ years of experience in the pharma industry, from Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, Grupo Farma and Hoechst Marion Roussel (HMR), now Sanofi, in Europe, Intercontinental and Latin America regions.

  • Executive Management Team

    Jean-Michel Lespinasse

    CEO

    Worked 6 years as COO of A&D’s Marketing & Sales Division. Was as COO at Delta Medical, and before that was GM BMS Russia.

    Petr Pípal

    CFO

    Worked 3 years as CFO of PharmaSwiss and 10 years in senior finance functions in BMS, Member of the Board in Farma-Projekt Poland.

    Gabriela Zelenková

    General Counsel and Company Secretary

    Previously BMS Vice-President and Ass. General Counsel, Head of Intercontinental R/C Law Department responsible for 65 markets including CEE, Middle East, Africa and India; China, Pacific Rim, Brazil, Latin America; Before that, BMS Vice-President and Ass. General Counsel, Head of R/C Law department Europe supporting all European countries and Distributor Markets of Europe.

    Dezső Mártha, MD

    Chief Operating Officer CEE&Greece, Head of Alliance Management

    Head of Celgene CEE until June 2019, prior to that GM BMS Hungary and BMS CEE Indirect Markets (Balkans + Slovakia + Baltics + Malta + Iceland)

    Marek Vasicek, MD

    Chief Operating Officer Russia/ Eurasia and R.O.W. (Rest of World) Expansion

    Joins from May 2023 from Bristol Myers Squibb, from the position of Transition Lead CEE and Interim General Manager Australia. Previous experience includes almost 23 years at BMS as GM Russia for 5 years, as well as various senior commercial roles, and 6 years in Novartis.

    Laur Saar, MD

    Corporate Medical Director, Regulatory & PV

    Until May 2015 Medical Director of Valeant / Pharma Swiss Europe since 2006. Prior to that Regional Medical BMS Baltics.

    Marcela Laššáková

    Chief Compliance Officer

    Until July 2016 Director Compliance and Internal Controls Valeant /PharmaSwiss EMEA since 2009. Prior to that Business Control Function Manager BMS Austria & Central Europe.

    Tomáš Černik

    Chief of Staff to CEO and Special Projects Lead

    Formerly Country Manager of Bristol-Myers Squibb, responsible for Austria, before that for Czech Republic and Hungary. Prior to this held various commercial and finance positions at BMS in different Central European countries

    Vedrana Sokač Brataljenović

    Public Affairs Director

    Head of Corporate Affairs South Europe in Sanofi, until December 2021. Previous positions include regional and local roles in Market Access, Marketing and Sales in Sanofi.

    Ivan Pertot

    Business Development Director

    Previously Head of Regulatory Department for non-EU Balkan countries at PharmaSwiss, prior to that Regulatory Affairs Director (2009-2013) and Regulatory Affairs Manager (2007-2009) at PharmaSwiss Serbia and Regulatory Affairs Officer at Schering Plough Serbia.

  • Management – Swixx General Managers

    Central and Eastern Europe – EU countries

    Martina Bergant

    General Manager Slovenia

    Formerly CFO Sanofi for South, East & Central Europe. In pharmaceutical business since 2002, holding different managerial positions covering Slovenia as well as CEE.

    George Bithas

    General Manager Greece, Cyprus and Malta

    More than 20 years experience in pharma industry, holding a series of roles with increasing responsibility in hospital devices, medical nutrition and specialty care in Abbott & AbbVie for Greece and Cyprus. Most recently served as Business Unit Director Immunology.

    Petr Čapek, MD

    General Manager Czech Republic

    Worked 5 years as GM PharmaSwiss Czech, previously GM Amgen CZ&SK and prior to that worked in various positions at BMS (BUH Oncology/Hospital products & Medical Director) since 1995.

    Davor Kovačević

    General Manager Croatia

    In Pharma industry as of 2002. Formerly Country manager for Croatia and Slovenia in Celgene. Prior to that held various positions in Alpe-Adria region such as Business unit head, Market access head, Marketing and Sales management in rare diseases, hospital, primary care and OTC area.

    Gergely Kovács

    General Manager Hungary

    Eight years of pharma sales & marketing experience as BUD for Pfizer and Krka Hungary. Prior to that, 16 years in different finance/consulting roles including Finance Director for Pfizer Hungary and GM/FD for Tele2.

    Alexander Marinov, MD

    General Manager Bulgaria

    Before joining Swixx Biopharma served as GM A&D Pharma Marketing and Sales Bulgaria for the last 7 years. Prior to that, BUH Hospital and Specialized products within A&D Pharma Bulgaria. Previously held various positions in BMS (BUH Oncology/Hospital products & Medical Director Bulgaria & Romania) since 1996.

    Georgiana Levivier

    General Manager Romania & Moldova

    Formerly Country Manager in Boston Scientific. Over 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry, including various positions in innovative companies (Takeda, Novartis Amgen, MSD and Schering Plough).

    Gabriela Markovová

    General Manager Slovakia

    Former Managing Director at A&D Pharma Marketing & Sales in Slovakia. In the past, BUM onco/orphan, Market Access and Marketing manager onco/orphan at Roche, Celgene and Takeda.

    Michal Opuchlik, MD

    General Manager Poland

    Formerly Country Manager Alexion Poland, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Romania and Bulgaria. Prior to that held position of Area General Manager for Poland, Baltic Countries and Russia in AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals.

    Piret Tuul

    Regional Baltic General Manager Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia

    Formerly General Manager Baltics in Takeda. Previous experience in various commercial positions with increasing responsibilities and geographical scope from Schering-Plough, Roche and Novartis.

    Central and Eastern Europe – non-EU countries

    Predrag Lukić, MPharm

    General Manager Serbia, Regional Director for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia

    Formerly GM PharmaSwiss Serbia. Prior to that held series of BUH and marketing / sales positions in PharmaSwiss Serbia.

    Bledar Shorri

    General Manager Albania and Kosovo

    Formerly Public Affairs and Market Access Head Albania and Kosovo in Sanofi and Country Chair Albania. Prior experience includes the position of General Manager Albania and various roles in Sales and Marketing in Sanofi.

    Žaklina Pop-Simonova, MD

    General Manager North Macedonia

    Formerly GM PharmaSwiss /Valeant Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania (2012-2016). Prior to that GM PharmaSwiss Macedonia & Kosovo (2005-2012), GM Macedonia PharmaSwiss (2000-2005), GM BMS Macedonia (1996-2000). Started in early 1993 as Ostomy and Wound Care Manager for ConvaTec/BMS.

    Ivana Prelević

    General Manager Montenegro

    Previously GM PharmaSwiss Montenegro 2003-2014 and prior to that GM Pfizer Montenegro.

    Kenan Selmanović

    General Manager Bosnia & Herzegovina

    Formerly GM PharmaSwiss/Valeant BiH (2011-2018). Prior to that leading Schering Plough BiH (2008-2011), held series roles in GSK (2004-2008)

    Russia and Eurasia

    Pavel Chistyakov

    General Manager Russia and Regional Director Eurasia

    23+ experience in pharma at executive positions, former General Manager of Ipsen in Russia and CIS (9Y), Pierre Fabre General manager Russia (7Y), Sanofi Trade and Revenue head Russia and EurAsia (5Y) and before joining Swixx Biopharma was Commercial VP for Greece, Russia and Turkey in Italpharmaco.

    Nozimkhon Alyavi

    Country Manager Uzbekistan

    20+ years of experience in managing business of Schering AG and Bayer Pharma AG in Uzbekistan as well as of establishing business operations in local pharma distributor.

    Vladimir Dumler

    Country Manager Belarus

    Formerly Head of Representative office and GenMed business in Sanofi Belarus. Almost 20 years of experience in commercial roles, with growing managerial scope.

    Askar Talipov

    Country Manager Kazakhstan

    Formerly Trade & Revenue Director for Central Asia, Caucasus and Belarus in Sanofi. Previous roles include various Supply Chain and Commercial functions with progressively increasing responsibilities.

    Middle East and North Africa – MENA

    Manar Al Nahar

    Regional General Manager, MENA

    25 years’ experience in multiple geographies across MEA, Greece and Russia on leadership positions from AstraZeneca/Alexion, Sanofi and Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Manar joins Swixx from the position of Area Director Emerging Market MEA, Russia and Eurasia (Alexion) and Rare Disease Commercial Director MEA (AstraZeneca).

    Latin America

    Pascal Forget

    Board Observer and Executive Regional General Manager Latam

    Founder of Laboratories Biopas with 35+ years of experience in the pharma industry, from Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, Grupo Farma and Hoechst Marion Roussel (HMR), now Sanofi, in Europe, Intercontinental and Latin America regions.

  • Alliance Management

    Zvonimir Dürrigl, VMD

    Alliance and Commercial Director

    20+ experience in Pharma, formerly Global Go-To-Market Transformation Operations Lead in Sanofi. Previous positions include General Manager GenMed Business Unit Southeast and Central Europe, Sanofi, and other local, regional and global positions in Sales, Marketing, Market Access and Organizational effectiveness in Sanofi, Eli Lilly and Pliva/Teva.

    Nermina Ćolić, MD, MBA

    HQ Hemato-Onco team / Commercial and Marketing Lead

    Formerly Head of Immunology Central and South Europe, Sanofi. Experience includes various positions in Marketing, Medical affairs, Business Unit Director position with gradual expansion of geographic scope in Sanofi and Schering Plough.

    Svetla Mihalevska, MD

    HQ Hemato-Onco team / Medical Lead Hematology

    20+ years’ experience in Medical Affairs, including supervision in Clinical trials, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, and Quality on country and Medical affairs regional level from Sanofi. Joined Swixx from the position of Medical Lead Oncology Lung & Gastrointestinal cancer, Balkans, AstraZeneca.

    Georgi Ignatovski, MD

    HQ Hemato-Onco and Vaccines team / Medical Lead Oncology & Vaccines

    Formerly Cardiovascular Medical Lead for Southeast and Central Europe Sanofi. Previously held various regional and country Medical and Commercial roles in Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim. Served as General manager of Bulgarian enterprise manufacturing producing vaccines and biological products.

    Irena Hampel Hršak, MD

    HQ Rare disease team / Commercial and Marketing Lead

    20+ years of experience in pharma and biotech. Formerly Value, Access and Policy Senior Manager in Amgen. Previously held various Commercial and Marketing positions in PharmaSwixx, including Business Unit Head and Sales and Marketing Director, with increasing P&L responsibilities.

    Vukašin Andrić, MD

    HQ Rare disease team / Medical Lead

    Formerly Medical Head Sanofi Genzyme Southeast and Central Europe and Country Medical Chair. 20+ years’ experience from various Regional and Country level Medical, Sales and Marketing roles from Sanofi, Janssen-Cilag and MSD.

    Dubravka Mandić, MD, PhD

    HQ Specialty Care team / Commercial and Marketing Lead

    Formerly Commercial Head, Southeast & Central Europe. More than 20 years of experience from Sanofi, including various positions in both Marketing and Sales. Proven results in leading and developing teams. Increased responsibility in terms of geography, organization size and the turnover over the time.

    Jana Pavlin, BScPharm

    HQ Specialty Care team / Medical Lead

    Formerly CV/EP Medical Manager Croatia/Slovenia and South Europe, Country Medical Chair in Sanofi. Brings cross-functional above 20 years’ experience from various regional and country level Medical, Marketing, and Sales roles.

    Karel Torner, BScPharm

    HQ Vaccines team / Commercial and Marketing Lead

    Previous position was General Manager Sanofi Pasteur Czech Republic and Slovakia. Held various roles in Commercial, Business Development and Business support with experience leading and developing people and almost a decade long experience in Country P&L Management.

    Renata Hrupelj

    Digital Engagement Lead

    Formerly Head of Customer Engagement team South Europe at Sanofi. Previously held Lead digital positions outside Pharma industry in L'Oreal as HUB Digital Manager Adria – Balkan, and Digital group manager in Heineken Group, implementing novel ways of marketing.

    Michal Matousek

    HQ Market Access Lead

    Formerly CEE Commercial Lead in Kyowa Kirin. Previously held various leadership roles with increasing responsibility and geographic scope in global pharma companies e.g. Astellas, Takeda, Shire, Baxter and Novartis.

    Vedran Čoporda, BSc Medical biochemistry

    Business Excellence Lead

    Formerly Business Excellence Manager for Southeast Central Europe in Sanofi. Held various positions in Sales, Commercial and Trade management, with preference for Business Operations, Sales Force excellence and product launches.

  • Corporate Functions

    Jelica Čubrić

    Corporate Quality Director

    Formerly QA Associate Director at Valeant Serbia. Previously held series of Quality/Compliance roles at Donau Labs & Coca Cola.

    Darko Popović

    Corporate IT Director

    Formerly IT Manager for Alpe Adria region in Xella, and prior that, Corporate IT Director in PharmaSwiss, with 25 years of experience in both technical and management areas of IT.

    Dagmar Stefanova, MD

    Medical operations Head Europe

    Formerly Country Medical Lead Biogen Slovakia. Previously held Medical Manager position in Roche, and different commercial roles in Ratiopharm and Schering-Plough.

    Eva Kolatsk

    Corporate Pharmacovigilance Head

    Previous experience in BMS as Associate Director of International Business Process and various Pharmacovigilance positions in the EU countries.

    Natalia Golovchenko

    Patient Advocacy Lead

    20+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Previously at managerial position in A&D Pharma and various positions in BMS.

    Michal Koutny

    Executive Director Finance

    Joins Swixx BioPharma from Ipsen where he held positions of Finance Director Germany/Austria/Switzerland, Head of Finance of International Clusters/China, and Head of Finance Europe. Prior to Ipsen, Michal worked for 14 years in BMS on various positions with increasing geographical responsibilities.

    Tina Puhalo

    Head of Communications

    Public relations and communications professional with over 25 years of experience working with multinational companies from pharmaceutical and FMCG industries, public sector and sports industry, including Roche and GSK.

  • BluePrint
  • Jazz Pharmaceuticals
  • Norgine
  • SeaGen
  • Otsuka
  • Bristol Myers
  • Sanofi
  • UPSA
  • GE Healthcare
  • Vifor
  • Gilead
  • Amgen
  • Alcon
  • Merz
  • Astra Zeneca
  • Kyowa Kirin
  • Fresenius
  • PTC
  • BeiGene
  • Incyte
  • BioCryst
  • Eli Lilly
  • OM Pharma
  • Pharmanutra
  • Y-mAbs

Contact

Corporate Headquarters

Swixx Biopharma AG
Neuhofstrasse 5A
CH-6340 Baar
Switzerland
Tel. +41 41 5523 440
info@swixxbiopharma.com

Other Countries

Management Center

Hybernská 5, 11000 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Tel. +420 242 434 242
info@swixxbiopharma.com

Other pages powered by SWIXX

prevenFLU