# Dermapharm ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 1991 | | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Grünwald (near Munich), Germany — group HQ; the Swiss subsidiary Dermapharm AG (CH) sits in Hünenberg ZG | | Status | Active | | Manufacturing | Brehna (Sandersdorf-Brehna, near Leipzig), Germany — mibe GmbH Arzneimittel (main site), Ehrenkirchen (near Freiburg), Germany — Anton Hübner GmbH & Co. KG, Alsdorf (near Aachen), Germany — Trommsdorff GmbH & Co. KG, Seevetal (near Hamburg), Germany — Biokirch GmbH, Berlin, Germany — Bio-Diät GmbH, Eugendorf (near Salzburg), Austria — Melasan GmbH | | Distribution | Pharmacy | | Website | https://dermapharm.com/ch-de/ | Dermapharm is a German pharmaceutical group founded in 1991 by Wilhelm Beier and headquartered in Grünwald, near Munich [11]. It began with dermatology, which the company still calls its origin, and has grown into a listed manufacturer of branded drugs, medical devices, food supplements, herbal medicines and a small line of what it terms "medical cosmetics". Its best-known consumer products are pharmacy items for skin and scalp, such as the hair-loss treatment Minoxicutan®, the anti-dandruff product Ketozolin® and the bite away® insect-bite device. Dermapharm is not a cosmetics house in the usual sense. Its portfolio mainly consists of generic drugs, and the parent company, Dermapharm Holding SE, has been traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2018. The founding Beier family still holds a majority of the shares. Over the past decade the group has expanded largely through acquisitions, including Allergopharma, the French herbal-supplement maker Arkopharma and a medical-cannabis business. The company remains active and reports results every quarter. ## Origin & founders Wilhelm Beier, born in 1956 in Eicherscheid in the Bad Münstereifel area, founded Dermapharm in 1991 and served as its chief executive. The company's own homepage opens with the line "Competence in dermatology – our origin", and its early identity rested on treatments for the skin. Dermapharm describes itself as "the drug specialists in the field of dermatology with own production, development and independent distribution." The group moved to Grünwald near Munich in 1998, and it has been based there since. Its head office sits on Lil-Dagover-Ring in Grünwald. Two different founding dates circulate, and both come from the company itself. The group-level pages give 1991 [2]. The profile of the Swiss subsidiary, Dermapharm AG in Hünenberg in the canton of Zug, states that it was founded in 1995 as the Swiss arm of an internationally active group [1]. The two dates belong to different legal entities rather than contradicting each other: 1991 marks the founding of the group, and 1995 the creation of its Swiss company. The same split explains why the brand is sometimes linked to Switzerland. The Swiss subsidiary is registered in Hünenberg, while the group's home country and headquarters are in Germany. ## History & milestones The decisive step in Dermapharm's industrial history came in 2003, when its subsidiary mibe GmbH Arzneimittel began production in Brehna, near Leipzig. The site covers 38,000 square metres and employs about 500 people from the region. Hans-Georg Feldmeier, a pharmacist who later became chief executive, joined the company that year specifically to set up production there. In 2018 Dermapharm went public. As part of the initial public offering, the Beier family sold 19.3% of its shares and kept around 65% of those outstanding [13]. Beier had become chairman of the supervisory board the year before, in 2017. Acquisitions then reshaped the group. In February 2020 Dermapharm bought Allergopharma, a maker of allergen immunotherapy products, from Merck KGaA [13]. The deal added allergy treatment to a portfolio built on dermatology. The pandemic brought an unusual chapter. From October 2020 the Brehna site produced the COVID-19 vaccine tozinameran under contract for BioNTech, and vaccine production was extended to Allergopharma's site in Reinbek from April 2021 [13]. According to a 2023 report by the news agency dpa-AFX, this contract work gave the company exceptional revenue during the pandemic. As that income began to fall away, Dermapharm turned to further purchases. In early 2022 it acquired the C³ Group, also known as Candoro, a medical-cannabis business, from Canopy Growth Corporation. In 2023 it took over the Arkopharma Group, a French manufacturer of herbal medicines and food supplements. Dpa-AFX described the Arkopharma deal as part of the company's strategy to make up for declining coronavirus-related sales by widening its portfolio. In the first quarter of 2023, sales rose 37.8% to €319 million, which the report attributed mainly to the new acquisition [14]. On 7 June 2023 the group also acquired a significant stake in Montavit, a pharmaceutical factory in Absam, Austria [11]. Montavit's products cover areas such as respiratory health, sleep, women's health and skin and allergy. In Switzerland, the local company integrated Allergopharma in 2021 and Arkopharma and Candoro ethics in 2023, adding allergy, plant-based medicine, food supplements and controlled narcotics to its work. Other companies joined the group over the years, though their purchase dates are not public. They include the production companies Anton Hübner in Ehrenkirchen, Trommsdorff in Alsdorf, Biokirch in Seevetal, Bio-Diät in Berlin and Melasan in Eugendorf, Austria. Euromed, a Spanish producer of herbal extracts, and Cernelle are named by the company as acquisitions that helped it grow abroad. In Dermapharm's own words, "acquiring individual products, portfolios and companies has always been part of Dermapharm's business strategy." ## Ownership Dermapharm Holding SE, a European public company, is the listed parent of the group. It is traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and is a member of the SDAX index. Control remains with the founder. Wilhelm Beier chairs the supervisory board and, together with his family, holds the majority of the shares through Themis Beteiligungs AG [11]. The group has not been acquired by another company. Day-to-day leadership lies with a management board headed by Hans-Georg Feldmeier, who became chief executive after years as head of production and development. The group comprises 18 subsidiaries and about 3,500 employees at more than 20 locations, according to its own figures. Its subsidiaries and brands include acis, Allergopharma, Arkopharma, axicorp, Candoro ethics, Hübner Arzneimittel, mibe Arzneimittel, mibetec, Strathmann and Trommsdorff. The business is organised in three segments. Branded pharmaceuticals is the largest, with more than 1,400 marketing authorisations covering over 400 active ingredients. A second segment, "other healthcare products", groups food supplements, herbal medicines, cosmetics, medical devices, herbal extracts and medical cannabis. The third is parallel import, run under the axicorp name, which buys original-brand medicines in other EU countries and resells them to wholesalers and pharmacies in Germany. By the company's account, axicorp ranks among the seven largest parallel importers in Germany. ## Philosophy & positioning Dermapharm presents itself first as a maker of medicines. Its corporate principles state that "the focus of our activities is the goal of offering products of outstanding quality and galenics at competitive prices." Galenics is the craft of turning an active ingredient into a usable form, such as a cream, tablet or spray. The company says it develops new dosage forms and brings products with distinct market advantages to healthcare. Its tagline, "Pharmaceutical Excellence 'Made in Germany'", reflects how much of its output is produced at home. The group says it makes roughly 90% of its products in-house in Germany [8]. The Brehna plant turns out sterile ampoules and freeze-dried products, tablets, capsules, ointments, solutions, drops and sprays. More than 60 employees work on developing and registering new products, according to the company. Its products are aimed at the pharmacy and medical channel. The Swiss subsidiary calls itself a partner to patients, doctors and pharmacists in the national health system, and in Switzerland product details are shown only to healthcare professionals after a login. Cosmetics play a minor role in this picture. The group lists "medical cosmetics" alongside medicines and medical devices as part of its broad dermatology portfolio. On its environment page, the company links skin and nature directly, saying it sees an obligation to treat "not only the skin, but also the environment" with great care. It states that all its medicines and cosmetics are produced in an environmentally sound way. It also uses paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council for its medicine cartons, package leaflets and other printed material. No third-party certifications for the products themselves are documented. Beyond its products, Dermapharm describes itself as socially responsible. It supports charities including McDonald's Kinderhilfe, Münchner Tafel in Munich, the initiative brotZeit and the Laureus Sport for Good foundation. ## Products & innovation Most of Dermapharm's range consists of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. The Swiss subsidiary concentrates on dermatology and rheumatology, with treatments for conditions such as psoriasis, actinic keratosis, atopic dermatitis, severe chronic hand eczema, acne and fungal and bacterial skin infections. The products closest to everyday beauty and personal care are pharmacy items for the skin and scalp. Minoxicutan®, a hair-loss treatment, is promoted on the German homepage as "the affordable alternative". Ketozolin® is aimed at dandruff and an itchy scalp. Both are medicines rather than cosmetics. Two medical devices have travelled furthest. Herpotherm® neo is marketed as a heat pen for herpes cold sores. Bite away® is a device for insect bites, which the company describes as CE-certified and internationally patented. Both devices are being expanded into other countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Through its subsidiary MUCOS Pharma, the group also sells enzyme-based preparations such as Wobenzym® and Phlogenzym®, along with Wobecare® CBD Aktiv Creme. Other brands in the group include Dekristolvit®, promoted for the immune system, Keltican® forte, marketed to support the regeneration of peripheral nerves, and Tromcardin® complex, promoted for a steady heart rhythm. Arkopharma adds a large range of herbal medicines and food supplements. The company's development priorities include more off-patent branded drugs in dermatology, a wider allergy-therapy range, science-based food supplements, new plant extracts and further medical devices. ## Current status Dermapharm is active. The group operates production, development and sales sites across Germany and in Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, Poland, Ukraine, Italy, Spain and other European countries, as well as in the United States and parts of Asia. Its revenue for 2025 is given as about €1.16 billion, with a workforce of 3,503 employees [13]. In March 2026 Dermapharm Holding SE resolved a public share buyback offer for up to 4,300,000 shares. Its most recent public activity was a press release on 25 August 2026, in which the company reported profitable growth in the first half of 2026 and higher adjusted earnings [12]. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 1991 | Dermapharm founded by Wilhelm Beier | https://ir.dermapharm.de/en/company/ | | 1995 | Swiss subsidiary Dermapharm AG founded in Hünenberg ZG | https://dermapharm.com/ch-de/ | | 1998 | Company relocated to Grünwald near Munich | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermapharm | | 2003 | Production site of mibe GmbH Arzneimittel in Brehna near Leipzig in operation (38,000 m²) | https://dermapharm.com/en-en/group-of-companies/production-and-development-in-germany/ | | 2018 | IPO; the Beier family sold 19.3% of its shares and kept around 65% of outstanding shares | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermapharm | | 2018 | Listed on the stock exchange via IPO; Beier family retained around 65% of shares (majority held via Themis Beteiligungs AG) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermapharm | | 2020 | Allergopharma purchased from Merck KGaA (February 2020) | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermapharm | | 2020 | From October 2020, contract production of BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine (tozinameran) at the Brehna site | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermapharm | | 2020 | Acquired Allergopharma from Merck KGaA | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermapharm | | 2021 | Allergopharma AG integrated into the Swiss entity | https://dermapharm.com/ch-de/ | | 2022 | C³ Group/Candoro (medical cannabis) acquired from Canopy Growth Corporation | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermapharm | | 2022 | Acquired C³ Group/Candoro (medical cannabis) from Canopy Growth Corporation | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermapharm | | 2023 | Arkopharma acquisition; in Switzerland Arkopharma AG (Arko Diffusion SA) and Candoro ethics AG integrated | https://dermapharm.com/ch-de/ | | 2023 | Significant shareholding acquired in Montavit (Absam, Austria) on 7 June 2023 | https://ir.dermapharm.de/en/company/ | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **Minoxicutan®** — Minoxicutan® – "Die günstige Alternative" — https://dermapharm.com/de-de/ - **Ketozolin®** — Ketozolin® – "Schuppen und Juckreiz? Machen Sie sich keinen Kopf!" — https://dermapharm.com/de-de/ - **herpotherm® neo** — herpotherm® neo – "dem Herpes-Wärmestift" — https://dermapharm.com/de-de/ - **bite away®** — bite away® - medical device (CE-certified, internationally patented) — https://ir.dermapharm.de/en/company/ - **Wobecare® CBD Aktiv Creme** — Wobenzym®, Phlogenzym®, Wobecare® CBD Aktiv Creme - enzyme-based preparations by MUCOS Pharma — https://ir.dermapharm.de/en/company/ ## Proprietary technologies & patents {#belagg-tech} - bite away® — described as an internationally patented, CE-certified medical device — https://ir.dermapharm.de/en/company/ ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **dpa-AFX (via MarketScreener)** (2023) — Q1 2023 results: sales up 37.8% to €319 million, driven mainly by the Arkopharma acquisition; notes pandemic-era revenue from contract manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines for BioNTech — https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/DERMAPHARM-HOLDING-SE-40718509/news/Latest-acquisition-drives-drugmaker-Dermapharm-forward-43850601/ ## Sources 1. (T1) https://dermapharm.com/ch-de/ 2. (T2) https://dermapharm.com/ch-de/unternehmensgruppe/ 8. (T2) https://dermapharm.com/en-en/group-of-companies/production-and-development-in-germany/ 11. (T2) https://ir.dermapharm.de/en/company/ 12. (T2) https://ir.dermapharm.de/en/investor-relations/financial-news/ 13. (T3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermapharm 14. (T3) https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/DERMAPHARM-HOLDING-SE-40718509/news/Latest-acquisition-drives-drugmaker-Dermapharm-forward-43850601/ --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-10-05 Please cite with a link to the article URL.