The family pharmaceutical company Duchesnay, well known for its drugs for women’s health, has just sold its five companies to one of its employees, Eric Gervais, who becomes the majority shareholder and the new president.
“With the pandemic, we understood how much we want to become more independent in terms of pharmaceutical production. It is clear that it is a big victory for Quebec to have been able to keep Duchesnay here, in Quebec, in Blainville, ”affirms with enthusiasm on the phone Éric Gervais, former executive vice-president who became president.
A biologist by training, Eric Gervais, who has worked in the company for 29 years, never imagined that one day he would become its owner. “It was not in my plans to buy companies that I myself developed with the team,” he says. However, when he learned that the Boivin family wanted to get rid of it, Éric Gervais felt he had no choice but to go for it.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY DUCHESNAY
Éric Gervais, new owner and president of the Duchesnay group
In a meeting with senior management, I said, “It’s not true that we’re going to let this go into foreign hands. It is truly a beautiful gem that we have. It’s rare, a Quebec multinational pharmaceutical company where the head office is here, where all the decisions are made here. ”
Éric Gervais, new president of Duchesnay
Blainville also has a large pharmaceutical manufacturing plant with export rights to more than 50 countries.
The entrepreneur therefore asked for help from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), which did not hesitate to embark on the project for the acquisition of five companies: Duchesnay and Duchesnay USA, dedicated to the health of pregnant and menopausal women, Médunik and Medunik USA, specializing in the treatment of rare diseases, and Analog Pharma in that of orphan drugs.
With other members of the management, Éric Gervais took over the companies of the Boivin family, active in the pharmaceutical sector since 1955. The Boivins notably founded the generic drug company Pro-Doc, which they sold. to Jean Coutu, in 2007. It was Louis Boivin who acquired the Canadian company Duchesnay in 1970. The five Duchesnay companies were chaired by Pierre Boivin.
New ambitions
Within 5 years, the new president plans to increase the turnover from 185 million dollars to 350 million, the number of employees from 100 to 150, and export to more than 50 countries.
“We have a manufacturing plan that is incredible. It is rare to be approved in the United States, Europe, Singapore and South Korea. We have succeeded in winning our letters of nobility in terms of our manufacturing plan, ”he explains.
90% of the income comes from the women’s health sector and 10% from orphan diseases. Éric Gervais and his team plan to change the situation with a third dedicated to exports, a third to women’s health and the last third to orphan diseases.
Ingenious strategy for orphan diseases
It is to develop this last third that Eric Gervais has developed an ingenious development strategy. One of the five companies of the Duchesnay Group, Médunik, was created to import drugs from Europe intended to treat rare diseases, but to which Canadians do not have access.
The Canadian market being what it is – only 2% of the world market – and the European vision of business absolutely wanting to conclude more lucrative agreements that encompass North America as a whole, Éric Gervais had the idea of creating Medunik USA.
“We have become more credible in the eyes of Europeans, because now we are able to offer a North American adventure. I gave them what they wanted to finally be able to bring innovative drugs to Canada. “
For now, Medunik has three drugs in his portfolio while Duchesnay has ten. In 2022, a drug for menopause and another for bacterial vaginosis will be available, then two more in 2023.