Chiesi is the first Italian pharmaceutical Company for investments in Research and Development

• The 2017 edition of the EU Industrial R & D Investment Scoreboard of the European Commission places Chiesi Group at the top of the Italian pharmaceutical companies in terms of investments in Research and Development.
• Compared to the previous year, the growth of Chiesi Group's investments (12.6%) is more than double the European average (5.8%).

Parma (Italy), December 2017 – First among Italian pharmaceutical companies, second among the manufacturers, fifth among all Italian companies and fifteenth among European pharmaceutical companies: these are the results obtained by Chiesi Group according to the 2017 edition of the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard, made by the Joint Research Center of the European Commission and recently published. The ranking took into account the investment data in Research and Development of over 2,500 companies globally in 2016 and 2017, using the Annual Reports as a reference source. The investments in Research and Development carried out by Chiesi Group in 2016/2017 exceeded 340 million euros, with a 12.6% growth on the previous year. A significant result considering that the average R&D investment of companies in all sectors in 2016/2017 stood at 5.8%.

“Chiesi Group believes in the value of innovation through Research and Development as an essential pillar for the development of the business area and the economic growth of the country as a whole”, comments Ugo Di Francesco, Chiesi Group CEO. “We have always worked on the front of internal research, which has allowed us to achieve important successes embodied in an innovative pipeline that has enriched the Group's therapeutic offer in the field of respiratory diseases. We hope that the institutions may also support realities like ours that, despite the difficulties faced by the pharmaceutical industry, continuee to invest in Research and Development to generate a positive long-term return”.

About Chiesi Group

Headquartered in Parma, Italy Chiesi Group is an international research-focused Healthcare group, with over 80 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Chiesi researches, develops and markets innovative drugs in the respiratory therapeutics, specialist medicine and rare diseases areas. Its R&D centres in Italy, France, USA, UK, Denmark and Sweden integrate their efforts to advance Chiesi's pre-clinical, clinical and registration programs. Chiesi employs over 4,500 people, 560 of whom are solely dedicated to Research and Development activities.