Caring for chronic and disabling diseases

In the late 1950s, Pierre Fabre was a pharmacist and drew many lessons from that experience. Listening to his patients’ needs, he noticed that many of them suffered from venous insufficiency, more precisely from a functional disorder called “restless legs,” and that none of the available solutions provided them with any relief.

From his pharmacy, inside his laboratory and in association with academics from the Toulouse Pharmacy Faculty, Pierre Fabre conducted the research which would result in his first prescription drug.

Eureka! In 1959 he satisfied the needs of patients suffering from heavy legs with a plant-based prescription drug. This was an immediate success, and is still borne out today.

As a pharmacist and botanist, Pierre Fabre found inspiration in nature. His prescription drug was created by extracting the key ingredients contained in butcher’s broom root.

In the 1970s, benign prostatic hyperplasia already affected 75% of men over 60 years of age in France.

In view of this, Pierre Fabre encouraged his pharmaceutical research team to look into this disorder. They would then try to develop a prescription drug to relieve the moderate functional problems associated with prostate adenoma.

In 1981, after several attempts, the research team based in Castres developed a new process. The clinical trials carried out in partnership with the main French urology centers, including Val de Grâce Hospital, Saint-Charles de Montpellier Hospital and Besançon University Hospital, concluded that the prescription drug was effective in the treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) .

Marketing Authorization (MA) was obtained in 1982.

Since the early 1980s, Pierre Fabre's pharmaceutical business has been a key player in the treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH).

The prescription drug developed back then remains one of the signature products of Pierre Fabre Pharmaceuticals.

In addition to this partnership, Pierre Fabre has, since 2018, aimed to improve quality of life for patients with urinary incontinence by developing innovative tools and services such as Uronaute.

In 2050, 50% of the world population will be affected by at least one allergic disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and Chronic Bronchitis (COPD) will be the 3rd highest cause of mortality in 2030.

These public health problems drove the Pierre Fabre Group to promote prescription drugs for asthma patients and for patients with chronic bronchitis (COPD).

Since 1991, the Pierre Fabre Group has endeavored to offer therapeutic solutions which meet the requirements of patients suffering from respiratory disorders (asthma and COPD)
 

According to the WHO, 1 in 11 adults worldwide suffers from diabetes. Diabetes is a major public health issue and the number of cases is steadily rising.

Until recently, this type of diabetes was only observed in adults, but it is now also present among children.

• Our involvement in tackling type 2 diabetes began in 2008 with the first co-marketing agreement signed with MSD Laboratories for the marketing of an anti-diabetic molecule in France.
• In 2009 there followed the signing of a second agreement enabling us to provide patients with a fixed-dose combination of two molecules.

In 1993, the Pierre Fabre Group strongly believed there was a gap in the market and became the first company to market a product to treat iron deficiency and to prevent iron deficiency in pregnant women.

Since then, the Pierre Fabre Group has led the iron supplement market and holds a market share of more than 60%. Iron deficiency is the main cause of anemia in Western Europe and worldwide. More than 1.5 billion humans are iron-deficient. 

The condition particularly affects pregnant women, especially toward the end of their pregnancy. Iron requirements increase significantly during pregnancy as the fetus and placenta grow and as maternal blood volume increases.