Gabriel Baertschi Takes Office as New CEO of Grünenthal Group as of October 1, 2016

AACHEN, Germany, October 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The Grünenthal Group today announces that Gabriel Baertschi has taken office as new CEO of the Grünenthal Group, an independent, family-owned, international research-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Aachen, Germany. The company's Supervisory Board had named Gabriel Baertschi to become Grünenthal's new CEO in June 2016. Gabriel Baertschi is joining Grünenthal from AstraZeneca, a global, science-led biopharmaceutical business where in his last appointment he served as country president for Japan. He succeeds Prof. Dr. Eric-Paul Pâques who retires at the end of 2016 after 23 years at Grünenthal.

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"Grünenthal as global leader in pain is highly committed to research and innovation and has a track record of bringing innovative pain therapies to patients around the world. As a family owned company, Grünenthal takes a long term view on innovation and covers the whole value chain. This is why I am excited to lead the company and become part of this excellent team", comments Gabriel Baertschi.

Under the leadership of Eric-Paul Pâques, Grünenthal has significantly expanded its global business, especially in Latin America, Europe as well as the US by bringing new innovative treatments to market. The company also has sharpened its strategy and is developing new promising business areas like the Hospital Business. "I will focus on continuing this successful strategy led by Eric as well as on further accelerating growth and expanding Grünenthal's scientific leadership", adds Baertschi.

Gabriel Baertschi has more than 20 years of international experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including the last three years as country president for AstraZeneca K.K. when he was responsible for an organization of more than USD 3 billion in sales and more than 3,000 employees across R&D, Manufacturing and Commercial functions. Under Gabriel Baertschi's tenure, AstraZeneca improved its position in the ranking of Japan's best-selling pharma companies from position #12 to position #6, and has significantly shortened drug development timelines. Prior to taking up this role in 2013, he had served as country president for AstraZeneca Germany and earlier in his career served as country manager for AstraZeneca in various Emerging Markets.

About Grünenthal 

The Grünenthal Group is an independent, family-owned, international research-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Aachen, Germany. We are an entrepreneurial specialist delivering true benefits to patients. By sustainably investing in research and development above the industrial average, we are committing to innovation in order to treat unmet medical needs and bring value-adding products to markets. Grünenthal is a fully integrated research & development company with a long track record of bringing innovative pain treatments and state-of-the-art technologies to patients.

Altogether, the Grünenthal Group is present in 32 countries with affiliates in Europe, Latin America and the US. Grünenthal products are sold in more than 155 countries and approx. 5,400 employees are working for the Grünenthal Group worldwide. In 2015, Grünenthal achieved revenues of € 1.2 bn. More information: http://www.grunenthal.com.

Contact: Steffen Fritzsche, Head Corporate Communications, Tel: +49-241-569-1335, Fax: +49-241-569-51335, [email protected]

Grünenthal GmbH, 52099 Aachen, Germany, http://www.grunenthal.com

SOURCE Grunenthal Group