Malmö
Strategic Concepts & Mechanics
Primary Evidence
"Frederik and Eva Paulsen were pioneers in developing and selling drugs based on peptide hormones, which are small proteins secreted into the bloodstream from the pituitary gland. Eva Paulsen had experience in the field through previous research assignments. She had experimented with peptide hormones during her time at Pharmacia and Organon in Stockholm. Frederik and Eva Paulsen were convinced that the natural origin of peptide hormones could provide a more suitable basis for drug development than the steroids other companies were working with in the 1950s. They acquired a house in Malmö where they established a research department. In 1961, the research team made a major breakthrough when they learned to produce the peptide hormones vasopressin, also called antidiuretic hormone (ADH), and oxytocin synthetically and on an industrial scale. Ferring was one of the first companies in the world to succeed in this. The pharmaceutical company intended to treat diabetes insipidus (DI), not diabetes mellitus, which is commonly referred to as sugar sickness. DI increases urine production, which can lead to dehydration and pose a life-threatening risk if not treated. The synthetically manufactured drugs had fewer side effects, and the company was no longer dependent on the supply of pig pituitaries. After nearly seven decades, it has proven that the investment was right. To this day, peptide hormones are used in several of Ferring’s drugs."
"I chose consulting because it would provide work at the "top of the pyramid" and thus experiences from the world I expected would become mine. Bohlin & Strömberg was a good first lesson, providing insight into the strategic and tactical dimensions of business. Among other things, I conducted a study of Facit's Swedish organization of offices and sales with continued advisory services when the company merged with the Swedish competitor and calculator manufacturer, Addo in Malmö. As a result, I ended up in the front row of one of the larger Swedish industrial tragedies in modern history."