Path to success

• Contipro is short for CONnective TIssue PROducts. These play a major role in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry, and Vladimír Velebný, who spent 14 years of scientific research in this field, was well aware of this. With this in mind, in 1990 he decided to put the result of his scientific efforts to use in business.
  
• The long-term objective was to penetrate biopharmacy, one of the most forward-looking branches of the pharma industry. However, the high cost of doing business in this field meant that first the necessary funding had to be generated. Therefore, the founders opted for a strategy of developing and selling raw materials to the cosmetic industry that were not to expensive to produce.
  
• However, the costly equipment and facilities for intensive research that were needed for the plan to materialize were missing. The two entrepreneurs solved the problem with inventiveness and patience. The determined founders of Contipro set about using ordinary household kitchen appliances to produce food supplements for the emerging fitness centre sector.
  
• They channelled most of the profits into research and the purchase of equipment, and after just two years their vision started to come together. They rolled out their first fermentation line, which they used to launch production of the cornerstone of the holding’s success – hyaluronic acid. The model based on investing much of the profit in research and development worked for Contipro. After six years, the company was able to set its sights beyond cosmetics to encompass pharmacy, and two years later the first biopharmaceutical products appeared in the company’s product portfolio.
  
• The holding’s success today can be attributed in large measure to the fact that it manufactures high-quality synthetic hyaluronic acid on a biotechnological base. In some countries, the top version of this acid has earned the attribute ‘Czech’. The product is absolutely pure, genetically identical to ‘human’ hyaluronic acid. As a result, Contipro’s output is much sought-after by the most reputable companies in various branches of the pharma industry.
  
• The acid’s quality triggered an unprecedented wave of interest. It paved the way for the holding’s entrance on the global markets and world of biopharmacy. Contipro Group has now marketed its first pharmaceutical products originally developed in its own laboratories. In 2004, the holding started manufacturing Hyodine, which significantly speeds up and improves the healing of serious skin defects. The company nurtures high hopes that this promising product will penetrate the world markets. Its exceptionality and potential are evidenced not only by the solid results recorded in Czech hospitals, but also by the global patent.