Innovation is the driving force behind every technologically advanced industry, but for the pharmaceutical industry it plays a vital role since it concerns the health and quality of life of patients. For Chiesi, Research and Development represents a true human and technological asset and, together with innovation, the driver of company growth.

Our Research & Development team represents a fundamental resource for the business. It comprises integrated functional areas focusing on pipeline projects including discovery and preclinical research, technical development, drug delivery technology, clinical development, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance, intellectual property, quality assurance, project management and leadership, and R&D portfolio management.  Moreover, R&D functions also support products already on the market through pharmacovigilance and regulatory activities, as well as active life cycle management programs.

The R&D team has its headquarters in the Research Center in Parma (Italy), and integrates with six other major research centers in Paris (France), Chippenham (UK), Cary (USA), Lidingo (Sweden), Shanghai (China) and Toronto (Canada).

Most of Chiesi's medicinal products are the result of internal research, but the pipeline also includes products that arise from collaborations and partnerships with other pharmaceutical companies.

The company has been investing a significant portion of its turnover in Research & Development for many years, with steadily increasing percentages. As a result, in 2024, the Group was ranked as the top pharmaceutical company in Italy for R&D investments and 11th in Europe. [1]

Furthermore, in 2024, Chiesi achieved 33 filings at the European Patent Office (EPO), reinforcing its position as the top Italian pharmaceutical company and the seventh-ranked Italian company across all sectors in terms of patent filings, with a total of 5,529 patents worldwide. [2]

The number of Research & Development programs continues to increase and diversify, enriching the therapeutic offer, focusing on three main business areas: AIR (respiratory diseases), RARE (rare and ultra-rare diseases) and CARE (Neonatology, Special Care and Consumer Healthcare).

Chiesi is expanding its range of products with different types of drugs alongside traditional small molecules, such as biological products (proteins) and advanced therapies (cell therapies), always maintaining an approach with innovative solutions to these new therapeutic areas.

This choice allows us to continue to develop and enrich our pipeline with studies that promise important developments for the future of our company, at the same time offering an opportunity for those patients with diseases with unmet needs and who are still lacking therapeutic options for their pathologies.

[1]     European Commission, Joint Research Centre, EU Industrial R&D Scoreboard 2024

[2]     European Patent Office, 2024 Report.