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48 INTEGRATED ANNUAL REPORT 2021 - PIERRE FABRE Local roots to build the future Pierre Fabre has valued local and sustainable roots. A source of pride, these roots are what allows it to work for and with the regions, while at the same time conquering the international market. 500 kg lozenges will be produced every hour by the new automated line vs. 180kg currently 50% increase in nicotine replacement lozenge production since 2019 Aignan Plant: developing the potential of unique expertise Bought by Pierre Fabre in 1984, the Aignan Plant in Gers now has over 100 employees. The site develops, manufactures, and packages cough sweets and nicotine replacement lozenges. Its expertise in the production of hard-boiled pharmaceutical lozenges gives it a real competitive advantage. Specifically, €1.8 million will be invested in 2021 to automate a production line. This investment received a grant under the French government’s economic recovery plan. The project will allow the Group, already a leader on the French quit-smoking market, to meet a growing global demand, especially in America. By 2024, the Aignan site will have increased its production capacity by 150 million lozenges every year. Committed to sovereign European health The Covid-19 pandemic has shed harsh light on the dependence of Europe’s health care systems on the rest of the world. During a meeting of the G5 Health Association think tank, the heads of 8 French pharmaceuticals, including Pierre Fabre, signed a letter published in the Les Échos newspaper to underline the need for Europe to maintain a sufficient production capacity to meet the needs of its populations. Restoring national sovereignty for medicines will require a huge industrial effort in numerous areas, such as maintaining and creating R&D sites, and an extensive evaluation of supply chains and which sites to develop or support for relocating production. It will also need a drastic overhaul of the price policy for health care solutions. Visit by Mrs. Olivia Grégoire, Secretary of State for the Social, Solidarity and Responsible Economy and Mr. Olivier Dussopt, Minister for Public Accounts, to the Aignan Plant in Gers as part of the France Relance Plan. “For decades the Pierre Fabre Group has been flying the colors of France around the world” Olivier Dussopt “Pierre Fabre has been sharing its strong values for many years \\\[...\\\] and the fact it belongs to a government-recognized public-interest foundation is extremely inspiring” Olivia Grégoire