While Morocco is today recognised as a significant player in the pharmaceutical industry on an international scale, Dr Farid Bennis is actively contributing to this through a vision that is at once industrial, scientific and strategic. His action is part of the continuity of a strong Moroccan entrepreneurial history, while propelling Laprophan towards a more integrated, more innovative and more outward-looking growth model.
“Laprophan has always cultivated a dual identity: that of an industrial pioneer and that of a healthcare player. We are not just a producer of medicines, we are a platform for therapeutic innovation. Today, the Laprophan group is a key healthcare player, with a portfolio of more than 1,000 medical references covering the vast majority of therapeutic areas: anti-infectives, gastroenterology, cardiology, central nervous system, oncology… We also export our know-how and our therapeutic solutions to more than fifty countries,” explains Dr Bennis.
R&D and innovation as the foundation of the Laprophan model
One of the pillars of this trajectory lies in research and development. Laprophan’s Research & Development Centre, a pioneer in Morocco since the 1960s, plays a central role in the group’s strategy. Dr Farid Bennis, former President of the Council of the Order of Pharmacists of Morocco, draws on this scientific heritage to make innovation a lever for health sovereignty and international competitiveness.
This culture of innovation translates concretely into internationally recognised inventive activity. Under the leadership of Dr Farid Bennis, five patents have been registered in more than 100 countries, illustrating Laprophan’s ability to innovate in Morocco and to design high value-added therapeutic solutions for international markets.
This expertise has also been recognised by several awards. In Geneva, the Laprophan group received the Innovation Award of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for the development of IXOR®, presented as the first anti-secretory drug of the proton pump inhibitor class in effervescent form, protected by an international patent. This award recognised the group’s ability to turn research into concrete therapeutic innovation.
Laprophan was also the winner of an FSMD Award of Excellence for sustainable human development, presented in Geneva by the Swiss-Moroccan Foundation for Sustainable Development, in recognition of an “innovative and bold project” for Morocco. More broadly, these awards recognise the quality of the group’s research and development work, its socio-economic impact and its continuous contribution to healthcare in Morocco since 1949.
Laprophan, a pharmaceutical production hub for Europe and Africa
The ambition stated by Dr Farid Bennis is clear: to make Morocco the “new India” of the global pharmaceutical industry, particularly in light of the weaknesses in global supply chains revealed by the Covid-19 pandemic, notably Europe’s heavy dependence on Asia.
“Morocco, with its stability and its infrastructure meeting the highest global standards, is positioning itself as a natural response to this sovereignty challenge. My vision is to make Morocco a pharmaceutical production and contract manufacturing hub for Europe and Africa,” says Dr Farid Bennis. And there is no shortage of assets: “We have the comparative advantages needed to secure the supply of our neighbours to the North while guaranteeing access to treatments for the South. This ambition is in line with the enlightened Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him,” states Dr Farid Bennis.
A structured and coherent international expansion strategy
This vision is part of a long-term internationalisation drive. Initially, Laprophan embarked on a strategic opening up to international markets in order to broaden its growth drivers, strengthen its partnerships and spread its know-how beyond its historical markets.
This momentum was reflected in particular in the rapprochement with the Chinese pharmaceutical group Sinopharm, through a strategic cooperation agreement covering several links in the pharmaceutical value chain, from pharmaceutical preparations to active ingredients, as well as medical devices and technology transfer. This partnership is part of the group’s drive to open up and expand internationally.
In line with this direction, Laprophan has continued to expand its presence on the African continent, through new registrations, the opening of new countries and the strengthening of its export network. The objective is clear: to increase access to quality treatments, while consolidating the group’s position as a leading African pharmaceutical player.
The credibility of this trajectory has been reinforced by the trust of international institutional investors. In 2023, Laprophan completed a historic fundraising of 75 million euros from a consortium led by Mediterrania Capital Partners, including PROPARCO, DEG and FMO. This transaction confirms the soundness of the group’s governance model and validates its growth potential.
“The entry of these leading European institutional investors into our shareholding is a guarantee of absolute confidence in our governance model and our growth potential. It validates our expansion strategy,” stresses Dr Farid Bennis.
Building on this momentum, the group has accelerated its external growth strategy. In 2024, Laprophan acquired Amanys Pharma in order to strengthen its range of healthcare products, particularly in oncology and haematology, while consolidating its industrial base. This transaction also enabled the group to become the number one producer of beta-lactams in Morocco. In the same year, the acquisition of Botanic Pharma complemented this trajectory by extending the group’s portfolio to a high-potential healthcare segment: food supplements.
In the same vein, the creation of the subsidiary Europhan marked a new stage in structuring the group’s European footprint, with a view to smart pharmaceutical nearshoring between Europe and Africa. This ambition materialised this year with the acquisition of Rivopharm, a Swiss pharmaceutical manufacturer, which provides the group with a high-level European industrial facility, backed by a strong compliance culture and internationally recognised regulatory standards, in an environment aligned with FDA, Swissmedic and EU-GMP requirements. More than just a growth driver, this transaction creates new synergies between the group’s European and African expertise, while giving Laprophan access to international markets that had so far been little or not at all explored.
Under the leadership of its Chairman and CEO, Dr Farid Bennis, the Laprophan group is thus pursuing a clear ambition: to make a pharmaceutical group capable of combining innovation, industrial excellence, health impact and international expansion shine from Morocco. At the crossroads of Europe and Africa, the group is asserting its vocation more than ever: to be both a national champion and a global healthcare player.