Products & Care

The “Retail” business area comprises the two sectors “Local Pharmacies” (bricks-and-mortar pharmacies) and “Pharmacies at Home” (mail-order pharmacies and home care), while the “Professionals” business area consists of the “Products & Brands” and “Services for Professionals” sectors. Both business areas focus on the development, marketing and sale of services and products through the various Galenica distribution channels. Depending on their needs, end customers (B2C) can benefit from their own bricks-and-mortar pharmacies, home care services, mail-order pharmacies and online shops. Galenica also supports healthcare providers (B2B) such as pharmacies, drugstores, physicians, care homes, hospitals and home care organisations as a strong partner.

“Products & Care” segment key figures

The “Products & Care” segment generated net sales of CHF 1,700.2 million (+3.9%) in the 2024 financial year. Of this, CHF 1,442.0 million (+4.1% excluding Coop Vitality and Mediservice) was attributable to the “Retail” business area (B2C). The “Professionals” (B2B) business area increased sales to CHF 268.2 million (+4.7%).

The adjusted¹⁾ operating result (EBIT) increased by 3.2% to CHF 157.3 million in the 2024 financial year, while the adjusted¹⁾ return on sales (ROS) decreased to 9.2% (previous year: 9.3%). Adjusted for a one-off valuation effect on the inventory in the previous year, the adjusted¹⁾ ROS improved from 9.1% in 2023 to 9.2% in 2024.

Investments in the “Products & Care” segment amounted to CHF 24.7 million (previous year: CHF 29.3 million). The year-on-year decline in investment activity is attributable to the normalisation of expansion and renovation activities in the pharmacy sector.

¹⁾ Excluding the effects of IFRS 16. See chapter “Alternative performance measures”.

“Retail” business area (B2C)

Local Pharmacies

In financial year 2024, the “Local Pharmacies” sector generated net sales of CHF 1,365.1 million (+4.4%, excluding Coop Vitality). The pharmacy network (excluding Coop Vitality) has continued to develop dynamically: a total of 12 pharmacies were newly acquired and 2 new locations opened, while 4 pharmacies were closed or merged with other locations. The expansion contributed +1.7% to sales growth in the “Local Pharmacies” sector. Adjusted for this expansion effect, Galenica pharmacies grew organically by 2.7% thanks to high demand for prescription-only medications.

By way of comparison, drug sales from bricks-and-mortar pharmacies in Switzerland (prescription [Rx] and OTC products) grew by 3.5% in the reporting year (IQVIA, Pharmaceutical Market Switzerland, 2024). The consumer healthcare market recorded year-on-year growth of 1.1%, with the non-medications segment recording a decline of 0.8% (IQVIA, Consumer Health Market Switzerland, 2024). As a result, Galenica Group pharmacies achieved stronger growth than the overall market and gained market shares organically.

At the end of 2024, Galenica’s network of own pharmacies comprised a total of 376 locations (net +7, including Coop Vitality). The significant increase in bricks-and-mortar pharmacies is a clear sign that Galenica is successfully implementing its strategy of continuously strengthening the pharmacy network and thus making an important contribution to the nationwide pharmaceutical supply of the Swiss population. In the reporting year, the Group strengthened its presence in the Bernese Oberland and Ticino regions in particular.

For the best customer experience

The customer-focused approach plays a key role in implementing the strategy and its associated objectives. We want to inspire our customers – with the right range of products and healthcare services. Galenica aims to align itself even more closely with the market and customers, and to be a convincing provider. We are therefore placing an increased focus on refining the omni-channel marketing mix and utilising new marketing tools. In particular, the focus is also on involving pharmacies (shop windows, retail spaces) for marketing communication.

“Consultation plus” is becoming ever more established

The importance of bricks-and-mortar pharmacies for providing low-threshold healthcare services to the population has been further consolidated. Demand for the “Consultation plus” offering developed positively in the reporting year. In the 2024 financial year, Galenica pharmacies provided 193,000 paid consultations and services, 39% more than in the previous year. Pharmacy staff can provide comprehensive support for almost all simple medical conditions, advise on health prevention and administer vaccinations in an increasing number of cantons. Furthermore, with “Book a Doc”, telemedical consultations can still be accessed at short notice if required. Over the course of 2025, Sun Store customers will also benefit from the comprehensive “Consultation plus” approach.

Contribution to occupational health management

At the same time, Galenica also plays an important role in companies’ occupational health management. It collaborates with more than 90 well-known companies that offer employees free flu vaccinations as part of their health initiatives. For employees, the nearest Galenica Group pharmacy is usually not far away, so they can be vaccinated with little effort.

Recognised pioneer in healthcare

Remuneration for pharmacy services such as vaccinations, consultation and preventive measures is increasingly being covered by health insurers in basic and supplementary insurance models. Galenica is committed to this strategic objective, not least on behalf of the industry as a whole and in keeping with its role as a pioneer in healthcare. In the 2024 financial year, Galenica has once again been able to collaborate constructively with health insurers. In the first half of 2024, for example, AXA and Galenica concluded an agreement that covers the costs of pharmacy-based advisory services as part of AXA supplementary insurance. Furthermore, numerous healthcare services have been additionally integrated into existing primary care insurance models, such as the PrimaFlex model from Groupe Mutuel or PreventoMed from Assura.

More women in pharmacy management

For Galenica, it is important to create opportunities for and empower women in management positions. In the 2024 financial year, the proportion of women in pharmacy management was 75%. Galenica is also constantly working to further develop the professional profile of pharmacy assistants. They can now take on responsibility in the areas of deployment planning, vocational training and healthcare services. Pharmacy assistants also have the opportunity to take on managerial roles in pharmacies, such as co-manager.

Soundly planned introduction of a new quality management system

In the year under review, Galenica launched an important quality assurance measure in pharmacies: it established a new quality management system that meets the high requirements of the authorities and customers, while also reducing the administrative burden on pharmaceutical staff. In order to ensure a high degree of acceptance for the changeover from the outset, Galenica incorporated the opinions of users and authorities in the form of sounding boards. Around 5,000 employees were trained in the reporting year; the new system has been in use since the beginning of January 2025.

Pharmacies at Home

The “Pharmacies at Home” sector contributed net sales of CHF 77.3 million (-2.1%, excluding Mediservice) to the overall result. The slight decline is mainly due to various adjustments to the product range and the flat development of the Amavita and Sun Store online shops. The largest area, “Bichsel HomeCare”, continued to grow pleasingly.

Bichsel, a company specialising in clinical nutrition, continued its positive trend of the first half of the year and made a significant contribution to the favourable result. Galenica strengthened its presence in southern Switzerland with an investment of 33% in Ticino-based Farmadomo Home Care Provider SA, the leading home care organisation in the field of clinical nutrition and blister packaging, i.e. the patient-specific packaging of medicines. Last but not least, the sector intensified its collaboration with home care organisations for the indications of Parkinson’s disease and palliative care.

Positive development for Redcare Pharmacy

The integration of the Swiss online pharmacy Redcare into the speciality pharmacy Mediservice was completed in the reporting year, allowing Switzerland's leading online pharmacy to focus on further expanding its product range and on brand management. In addition, Galenica increased its stake in Redcare Pharmacy from 7.9% to 10.3% in the year under review. By expanding its investment in the company, Galenica is strengthening its partnership with Redcare Pharmacy, which has developed very positively since it was founded.

Forthcoming roll-out of the Prescription Manager

In the “Pharmacies at Home” area, the roll out of the Prescription Manager to all Galenica Group pharmacy formats was prepared in the reporting year. The Prescription Manager is a digital assistant for people who need medication on a regular basis and have to renew their repeat prescriptions every six months. Many patients struggle with this task, which in turn poses a challenge for patient adherence and efficacy of their therapy. With this in mind, Galenica has developed a simple solution that is also easy to use for elderly people. It allows repeat prescriptions to be easily managed and medication to be conveniently re-ordered, either at home or in the pharmacy of choice. The Prescription Manager is therefore a good example of the implementation of the Omni-Channel strategy.

“Professionals” business area (B2B)

Products & Brands

In the 2024 financial year, the “Products & Brands” sector generated sales of CHF 183.4 million (+3.5%). Organic growth in the “Products & Brands” sector in the Swiss market was -0.2%. The Swiss market was dampened by the ongoing reduction in inventories and a mild flu season in the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, sales of Verfora products in the pharmacy and drugstores market outperformed the overall market with an increase of 4.2%, leading to further gains in market share.

The export business performed particularly positively with organic growth of 15.1%. This result was driven by increased demand for Verfora products, particularly Perskindol^®, as well as earlier product deliveries abroad due to an upcoming regulatory change.

By way of comparison, the consumer healthcare market grew by 1.1% year-on-year (IQVIA, Consumer Health Market Switzerland, 2024, excluding COVID-19 self-tests).

Galenica further expanded its leading market position in the competitive consumer healthcare sector with the healthcare company Verfora. In addition to expanding its product portfolio, Verfora is investing in the awareness of its brands in particular and is consistently developing them. This is especially important in a market that is increasingly being supplemented by digital channels. Take Triofan^®, for example, a brand that was originally only used for cold and nasal sprays and is now a popular brand for hay fever and coughs.

Bundling of complementary medicine

Under the Verfora umbrella, Galenica bundles its complementary medicine offerings in its subsidiary Spagyros, enabling this area to be commercialised even more successfully. Since 1 January 2025, Verfora has also been responsible for the exclusive marketing and distribution of Cooper Consumer Health products in Switzerland, further strengthening its presence in the market. Thanks to Cooper’s prescription-only products such as Duphalac, Legalon and Prosta-Urgenin, the product portfolio for the medical sales force is also expanding.

Services for Professionals

The “Services for Professionals” sector generated sales of CHF 84.8 million (+7.5%) in the 2024 financial year. Growth was generated in particular by the strong performance of Lifestage Solutions and with blister packaging solutions from Medifilm.

Digital gateway for professional services

The “Services for Professionals” sector is a particularly good example of how the Galenica network operates and creates added value. The comprehensive range of services relieves the burden on healthcare professionals and optimises workflows. The network includes the specialist for clinical nutrition (Bichsel), patient-specific blister packaging of medications (Medifilm), a digital platform (Lifestage Solutions) and mobile care home doctors (Emeda) – supplemented by almost 380 bricks-and-mortar pharmacies throughout Switzerland. At the centre of this network is the Lifestage Solutions platform, which Galenica is increasingly developing into a digital gateway for its product and service offerings.

Market establishment at Bichsel and Medifilm

The product range adjustments and process optimisations initiated at Bichsel over the last few years proved to be effective: The specialist in the manufacturing of registered and non-registered medicinal products was successful in the 2024 financial year and is very well established within its primary target group, hospitals.

Medifilm was able to put the two new blister packaging machines into operation in 2024. Certification by Swissmedic will take place in the first quarter of 2025. In the 2024 financial year, the number of Medifilm patients increased by around 10%, as in the previous year. In addition, over than 50 new institutional customers were acquired for the supply of medifilms, including a national care home group for which Galenica pharmacies are one of the main suppliers of medication management.