Dermo-cosmetics and pharmaceutical giant Pierre Fabre Laboratories Group has underlined its ambitions for growth in the Middle East and beyond with the opening of a new regional hub in Dubai.
The company is a global player with its dermo-cosmetics brands Avène, Ducray, A-Derma, Klorane, and René Furterer, as well as its entire medical division specialising in oncology, dermatology, and rare diseases.
Eric Ducournau, chief executive of Pierre Fabre Laboratories, officially inaugurated the new premises in the Landmark Group building near Dubai Marina. It is the headquarters of the French company’s Middle East, Africa, Russia, Turkey (MEART) subsidiary and will play a central role in its strategy to double its sales in six years.
Ducournau said the move confirmed Pierre Fabre Laboratories’ bold expansion route, which also involves leveraging local expertise.
“This investment clearly illustrates our desire to expand in this region, and Dubai is ideal for recruiting international talent from the UAE,” he told The National.
Ducournau also said the country’s political stability, its investment in science, and its strong commitment to health care were the main reasons for choosing Dubai as the regional centre.
Pierre Fabre Laboratories aims to continue its research into “the medicines of the future” while potentially adapting existing medical treatments and dermo-cosmetic products to regional needs.
“We work closely with healthcare professionals to understand patients’ needs,” Ducournau said.
“Here, the country invests in its hospital infrastructure, equipment, and training for doctors to treat patients. Our expertise, combined with that of healthcare professionals, will enable us to provide medicines and dermo-cosmetic care tailored to the needs of the local population.”
Ducournau said: “What is important for a pharma company is to develop products, and to develop products you need scientific partnerships.
“And in this area, countries are really investing; the level of hospitals is very high … the equipment, the training, the presence of highly experienced doctors.
“The country is investing in good facilities to treat the population…that’s very important because you can’t develop the company more in the field of oncology or dermatology or rare diseases without this footprint in science.”
A proud history
Founded in 1961 by pharmacist Pierre Fabre, the group expanded from its initial activities in the field of pharmaceuticals to include dermo-cosmetics, investing heavily in research and development - as it continues to do today - particularly in the fields of oncology and dermatology.
Upon his death in 2013, Pierre Fabre finalised the donation of his majority stake to the Pierre Fabre Foundation, which he had created.
The foundation, recognised by the French government, works to improve access to essential medicines and doctors, particularly in Africa and East Asia. In Lebanon, for example, it has helped Syrian refugee populations in camps by providing them with care.
Ducournau said the company is fully committed to caring for patients and its employees, as well as for the environment. Also a botanist by training, Fabre had a strong desire to respect nature, minimise his footprint, and support local communities. Pierre Fabre Laboratories invests in CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiatives and sources many of its active ingredients from plants.
Today, the company operates directly in 44 countries and markets its products in all geographies. It is the world’s second-largest player in the dermo-cosmetics market and France’s fourth-largest pharmaceutical company, with an already significant presence in the Middle East.
“We have grown significantly in Europe in recent years,” explained Ducournau. “Today, we are continuing our development in this region, as well as in China, Asia at large, and the United States. These regions are very important for the medicines of tomorrow.”
In the Arabian Peninsula, Pierre Fabre Laboratories is renowned for its Avène brand - in sun protection and anti-ageing care - and for A-Derma in eczema care.
The same is true for Ducray and René Furterer in the field of hair and scalp care, dandruff and hair loss, where the brands rank first in sales.
Pierre Fabre Laboratories said it wants to forge scientific partnerships with key healthcare professionals and hospitals in the region to understand the needs of patients here and offer dermo-cosmetic care addressing their specific skin issues.
It is also committed to supporting research in oncology and dermatology and wants to support clinical programmes in these areas with innovative partners.
“To establish our brands, we seek to build long-term relationships with dermatologists and dermatology clinics, in particular by showing them how these formulas are formulated to be highly tolerable and clinically proven through clinical trials,” said Ducournau.
He also confirmed digital technology as another priority area for investment.
“We need to develop the online presence of our products and brands,” Ducournau continued. “To do this, we need to recruit talent with real digital and international expertise.
“Dubai is an international city with a mix of different cultures. This is a real strength when we want to develop our presence across an entire region such as MEART.
“You have a lot of people not from this area, but living in Dubai. And that creates a sort of international framework, which is very important, because we have a different culture mix here, and you want to reach very different parts of the population.”
The chief executive said Pierre Fabre Laboratories plans to raise its revenue from €3.1 billion (Dh13.37 billion) in 2024 to a minimum of €5 billion (Dh21.8 billion) by 2032, ensuring a balanced split between its dermo-cosmetics and pharmaceutical activities.
The company is investing heavily in developing new, increasingly targeted treatments for patients with cancer or rare diseases requiring targeted therapy. The same applies to dermo-cosmetic care.
Ducournau said: “Each region has its own specific characteristics, whether in terms of skin types, lifestyle, or climate.
“To establish ourselves, we need to understand these specific characteristics so that we can commercialise products locally that are tailored to them.
“Patients in Europe or in the Middle East are not the same as those in America or Asia. So we really need to combine global scale and local grasp to do what’s right for patients, consumers and customers everywhere we operate.”
While Ducournau has ruled out developing new brands locally for now, the Pierre Fabre Laboratories boss acknowledged need for localised manufacturing in the future.
“Today, we are doing 71 per cent of our revenues internationally, but still manufacturing 95 per cent in France,” he said. “Tomorrow, we will have to manufacture closer to the area where the products are sold and consumed.”
Ducournau highlighted that Pierre Fabre Laboratories has been present in this region since the 1980s, and its growth trajectory will continue to be deployed on the basis of the strong regional ties it has built.
“I want to emphasise that we found good partners to establish our business here…we believe that this chain of distribution will extend in the region,” he said, re-confirming the Dubai hub’s role as part of the broader strategy to dramatically increase global footprint and revenues.
Ducournau added: “We took 40 years to establish a certain level of revenue…and we want to double this in only six years. So, that’s the objective of this opening and this presence here.”
This page was produced by The National in partnership with Pierre Fabre Laboratories.