The story
History
Beginnings (1935–1939)
The company was founded in 1935 in Starogard Gdański by Kurt Boskamp, a resident of the Free City of Danzig, under the name Polska Fabryka Chemiczno-Farmaceutyczna "Polpharma" (Polish Chemical and Pharmaceutical Factory "Polpharma"). The plant was established on the site of a former agricultural machinery factory. Initially the company employed a team of 20 people, producing painkillers, antipyretics and disinfectants. Its flagship product was aspirin manufactured under licence from Bayer, initially available only on prescription. The company also began producing nitroglycerin capsules.
Second World War and reconstruction (1939–1959)
During the Second World War and the German occupation of Poland the plant operated as a branch of Bayer. In March 1945 the factory was largely destroyed. After the war the plant was nationalised and placed under the management of two chemists, Zygmunt Gmaj and Jerzy Sumczyński. Reconstruction lasted from 1945 to 1949. In 1951 the company was renamed Starogardzkie Zakłady Farmaceutyczne (Starogard Pharmaceutical Works). It began producing sulfathiazole, followed by further types of medicines. From the 1950s the company mass-produced Polopiryna, a Polish equivalent of aspirin, and within the consolidated state pharmaceutical industry it was the largest aspirin manufacturer in the Polish People's Republic. In 1959 the plant was incorporated into the "Polfa" Pharmaceutical Industry Union.
Polish People's Republic era (1959–1989)
In the 1960s the production of active substances developed rapidly, followed by finished dosage forms – tablets and ampoule medicines. The company's research laboratory was also expanded. In 1967 Polpharma developed the production of metronidazole, an antibacterial and antiprotozoal drug. In the 1970s the company modernised its production infrastructure. The plant reached its peak production capacity in this period – in 1980 it employed more than 3,000 people and produced a record 2.7 billion tablets, half of which were exported to 60 countries on all continents. In the 1980s the analgesic Etopiryna also became one of its popular products.
Transformation and privatisation (1989–2000)
On 1 December 1995 the company's historical name "Polpharma" was restored and the enterprise was transformed into Polpharma SA, a sole-shareholder company of the Polish State Treasury. In 1998 construction began on a new solid dosage forms facility, built by an international team, which became one of the most modern pharmaceutical factories in Europe. The company was privatised on 20 July 2000, when a 52.5% stake was sold for more than PLN 231 million to domestic investors: Spectra Management (42.5% of shares), controlled by Jerzy Starak, and Prokom Investments (10% of shares). The consortium initially also included the insurer TUiR Warta (linked to Jan Kulczyk) and Polsat (owned by Zygmunt Solorz), but both investors withdrew before the transaction was finalised. At the same time the company's capital was increased by PLN 100 million, earmarked for investment. At the time of privatisation the company generated close to half a billion złoty in annual revenue with more than PLN 60 million in profit, giving it one of the highest profitability ratios in the industry.
Growth and expansion (2000–2019)
In 2000 Polpharma opened its first foreign representative office, in Lithuania. In 2001 the company established Polpharma Biuro Handlowe Sp. z o.o., a Warsaw-based trading company responsible for product promotion and medicine sales. Representative offices were also opened in Moscow (covering Russia and other former Soviet states) and in Ukraine. In the same year the company founded the Polpharma Scientific Foundation, which finances research projects in pharmacy and medicine.
In 2002 the Polscreen National Coronary Heart Disease Prevention Programme was launched – the largest population study of its kind in the world, designed by the prevention committee of the Polish Cardiac Society and carried out with a Polpharma grant between 2002 and 2005. In 2004 the company opened a modern research and development centre and quality control laboratory compliant with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) – one of the largest facilities of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe – as well as a logistics centre compliant with Good Distribution Practice (GDP). In 2005 a new ampoule production building with an annual capacity of up to 50 million glass ampoules and a training and administration centre were opened in Starogard Gdański.
In 2005 Medana Pharma S.A. of Sieradz, a company specialising in paediatric medicines and vitamin preparations, joined the Polpharma Group. In 2007 Polpharma obtained ISO 14001 certification for environmental management and OHSAS 18001 certification for occupational health and safety, and opened representative offices in Belarus and Kazakhstan. In 2009 Chimpharm (Santo), the largest medicine manufacturer in Kazakhstan, joined the group, and representative offices were opened in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. In the same year Polpharma successfully passed an inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which opened the US market to the company's pharmaceutical substances. In 2010 Polpharma acquired an antibiotics portfolio and a production site in Duchnice near Warsaw from Bioton.
In April 2012 Polpharma acquired a majority stake (85.14%) in Warszawskie Zakłady Farmaceutyczne Polfa S.A. (Polfa Warszawa) for PLN 957 million, completing that company's privatisation. It also opened its first biotechnology laboratories in the Gdańsk Science and Technology Park, and new representative offices in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. In 2013 a representative office was opened in Vietnam, and Sanfarm of Nowa Dęba, operating in the Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone, was incorporated into Zakłady Farmaceutyczne Polpharma S.A. as a production branch.
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In 2014 Polpharma published its first corporate social responsibility report prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. In 2015 construction began on a new biological medicines plant for external clients in Duchnice, and the company celebrated its 80th anniversary. In 2018 Polpharma took first place in the 12th Responsible Companies Ranking – the first time in the ranking's history that a Polish company topped the list. In 2019, by decision of the supervisory board, Polpharma Biologics was spun off from ZF Polpharma as an independent legal entity.
Consolidation and a new era of the group (since 2020)
In 2020 the company completed the transfer of glass-ampoule production from Polfa Warszawa to the Starogard Gdański plant, doubling capacity to 80 million ampoules per year. In the same year Polpharma co-developed the first Polish genetic test for SARS-CoV-2 (MediPAN-2G+ FAST COVID), created in cooperation with scientists of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Polpharma was also the first company in Poland to complete verification confirming the compliance of its procurement system with the ISO 20400 sustainable procurement standard. A new production facility was opened in Sieradz, comprising a non-sterile liquids plant, a warehouse and a modern R&D laboratory for inhaled medicines.
On 1 April 2021 Polpharma Biuro Handlowe Sp. z o.o. and Medana Pharma S.A. were merged into Zakłady Farmaceutyczne Polpharma S.A. as part of a simplification of the group's management structure.
In 2022 the second part of the Polpharma Distribution Centre in Błonie was launched – a warehouse and pharmaceutical wholesale facility with a total area of almost 20,000 m² and more than 35,000 pallet spaces. The company inaugurated a project to implement RNA technology in Poland under the banner "Limitless future of RNA therapeutics", in cooperation with the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznań, funded by a grant from the Medical Research Agency. Polpharma also became a partner of Pikralida, a biopharmaceutical start-up specialising in innovative small-molecule substances and modern drug delivery systems. In November 2022 Polpharma acquired 100% of the shares of Zakłady Farmaceutyczne Polfa-Lublin S.A.
On 1 March 2024 Warszawskie Zakłady Farmaceutyczne Polfa S.A. was formally merged into ZF Polpharma, ceasing to exist as a separate legal entity. Polpharma assumed all rights and obligations of the Warsaw company. The historic Polfa buildings on Karolkowa Street in Warsaw were earmarked for demolition.
In August 2024 Polpharma became the majority shareholder (98.3%) of Ziołolek Sp. z o.o. of Poznań, a producer of dermatological products, medical devices and over-the-counter medicines, including the Linomag brand. The acquisition enabled Polpharma to enter the dermatological products segment – in particular ointments and creams – which the company had not previously manufactured at its own plants.
In October 2024 a new centre was opened in Starogard Gdański – the first in Poland and one of only a few in Europe dedicated to research, development and production of highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (HP APIs), used among others in oncology. The investment, worth more than PLN 100 million, is intended to partially reduce the dependence of the European supply chain on imports from Asia, which accounts for around 80% of global production of these substances.
On 24 October 2025 a change of group leadership was announced: with effect from 1 January 2026, Sebastian Szymanek, until then president of ZF Polpharma, was appointed president of the entire Polpharma Group. He succeeded Markus Sieger, who had led the group for ten years and moved to the supervisory board in accordance with a previously agreed succession plan.
In 2025 Polpharma celebrated its 90th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the graphic artist Andrzej Pągowski created a series of posters illustrating nine decades of the company's history against the backdrop of Poland's history – from post-war reconstruction, through the political transformation, to the present day. The exhibition was presented during the 21st Health Market Forum.
In March 2026 the Polpharma Group opened its first office in India. The new location is intended to enable closer cooperation with key suppliers of active pharmaceutical ingredients, increase the predictability of procurement processes and strengthen quality and ESG standards in the region.
Polpharma Scientific Foundation
The Polpharma Scientific Foundation was established in 2001. It is one of the largest private institutions in Poland financing research projects in pharmacy and medicine.
By 2025 the foundation had held 24 editions of its grant competition and awarded 86 research grants, with the total value of funds allocated to its statutory purposes approaching PLN 45 million. The foundation also awards scholarships to outstanding doctoral students and has run a scholarship programme for doctoral students at medical universities since 2006.
The foundation has received a number of distinctions, including the title of Reliable Friend of the People of Science: Medicine and Pharmacy (2011), the Honorary Pearl awarded by Polish Market and the Institute of Economics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the title of Patron of the Pharmaceutical Self-Government awarded by the Supreme Pharmaceutical Chamber.
From Wikipedia’s article on Polpharma, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4