Enterprise — Donald Kalff

In my books and articles, I give a reasoned critique of the Anglo-Saxon ‘shareholder value’ model and propose an alternative for large enterprises. But the real test, of course, is in a day-to-day business environment. In my capacity as serial entrepreneur, I have been able to put into practice my ideas on a durable, value-driven business organisation.

A New Business Model

Most successes have been with so-called iSMEs, or Innovative Small/Medium-sized Enterprises, in the field of medicine.

In short, the model, when applied to the extension of existing patents or the reformulation of out-of-patent medicines, entails the following principles:

A patent is not an innovation; it can only add economic value if integrated with available IP
Formulations are patentable
Each formulation patent is brought into the care of a separate legal structure; specifically, a Dutch/Belgian Limited company, or ‘BV.’ This provides maximum commercial flexibility
The operational definition of an innovation is an ‘investment-grade proposal’; a measure of performance for pharmaceutical companies
To prevent shareholders dominating the decision-making, a one-tier board is put into place for each BV, with the managing director as executive and two non-executives who are experts in their field
The ‘articles of association’ in a BV include cooperation not competition as management principle, and the application of civil contract law
There is no room for diversification. The BV succeeds or fails, but will at all times have enough cash to meet its obligations.

The above principles are described in full in this article.

The Model in Practice

Galenicap is a speciality pharma company focused on the development of de-risked, value-added medicines across large, high-need therapeutic areas. Our mission is to improve affordable access to innovative treatment solutions, worldwide.

By incorporating a drug reformulation strategy, Galenicap unlocks the potential to create unique products with a robust intellectual–property position that aligns perfectly with new therapeutic indications being targeted.

Currently, we are advancing 12 programs in various therapeutic indications, including CNS, oncology, cardiovascular conditions, infectious diseases, and women’s health.