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2007 Start-up.
Now an international
healthcare group.

 WHO ARE WE?

My name is Clemens Fischer. I founded Futrue more than ten years ago together with Madlena Hohlefelder, a healthcare incubator which now includes more than 20 pharmaceutical companies around the world. Before that I was with Novartis, an international pharmaceutical group and Madlena was with BCG, a leading consultancy. During my time with Novartis, I learned how many unused opportunities in the pharmaceutical and healthcare field exist. Reasons why some very significant opportunities are not utilised include the fact that big groups rarely reward the taking of risks, and it's very unlikely that a good idea will survive the many committees, which are often politically motivated. An even more common reason, though, is that many opportunities are not even recognised as being opportunities. This often leads to many patients not getting (the best) treatment, and major opportunities not being utilised.

We founded Futrue on the basis of this realisation.

 WHAT IS YOUR VISION?

Our vision is to become the "Tesla of the pharmaceutical industry", in other words to surprise Big Pharma with what is possible if you bring together bravery, talent and entrepreneurship to make the numerous as yet unused opportunities a reality.

 WHAT EXACTLY DOES FUTRUE DO?

We make use of precisely those opportunities that big pharma either doesn't see or has no interest in. We focus solely on opportunities in niche markets with exponential growth. If we believe in an opportunity, we found a company and put in high quality managers.

And off we go!

Each company is self-sufficient, and Futrue only supports the areas accounting, HR, legal and IT. To ensure that our ideas are implemented as quickly as possible and time is not wasted with politics and unnecessary discussions, we start all of our companies without any external investors.

 CAN YOU GIVE US AN EXAMPLE OF THE FOUNDING OF A COMPANY LIKE THAT?

Several years ago, an article about a cannabis company that appeared in "Manager Magazin" encouraged us to analyse that market more closely. We found that the market for leisure cannabis did not meet our requirements profile, among other things because of the unfavourable competitive environment and the minimal levels of differentiation. What our studies did show, however, was that some of the active substances contained within cannabis can have a significant effect on the sensation of pain. Our market analyses also showed, that there was only one company in the whole world with the expertise to cultivate medical cannabis plants, manufacture a herbal medicine from them and develop these to authorised medicinal products. However, this company works in a completely different area on the treatment of epilepsy, and was therefore not an obstacle.

As a result, a few years ago we founded the biopharmaceutical company Vertanical, built the most modern GMP greenhouse in the world for cannabis in Denmark in record time, built from scratch a highly modern, GMP-certified production facility for manufacturing medicinal products containing cannabis, and have carried out more than 10 preclinical and clinical studies to date. Our lead product, Ver-01, is now in the final stage of clinical trials (phase III). We are confident, that we will receive authorisation for the first innovation in pain relief therapy in more than 30 years in the next 24 months, and that we will be able to launch our unique medicinal product worldwide. Our aim is to replace opioids, which have many side effects, and to give the more than 100 million chronic pain patients around the world a new life with our potential blockbuster, Ver-01.

 WHERE DOES THE MONEY TO FOUND YOUR COMPANIES COME FROM?

Our operational companies are currently making profits before taxation and expenses on R&D of  >60 million euros a year, and this trend is very much on the rise. In addition to this, we have the revenue from selling companies that makes a significant contribution to our cash pool. We currently have an investment volume in the high hundreds of millions. This enables us to realise even large and cost-intensive opportunities.

 WHICH COMPANIES HAVE YOU FOUNDED? CAN YOU GIVE US SOME EXAMPLES?

– a leading global probiotic company with the market leader Kijimea in the field of irritable bowel

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SYNformulas is a leading global probiotics company focusing on researching intelligent bacteria. SYNformulas has already managed to make a breakthrough in the field of treatment for irritable bowel diseases: in two independent studies, the strain of bacteria MIMBb75 showed significant efficacy in the common disease of irritable bowel syndrome. It is now the bacterial strain that is most commonly used for this indication across all of Europe. For future-oriented product development with clinically proven efficacy, SYNformulas creates a skilled research and development team and builds on collaboration with a wide network of internationally recognised researchers and universities.

– biopharmaceutical company focusing on giving chronic pain patients a new life

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Vertanical is a highly innovative biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the development of cannabis-based active substances to treat patients with chronic pain. Vertanical has the most modern cultivation and production facility for medicinal cannabis in the world. Vertanical has now carried out more than 10 preclinical and clinical studies. The lead product, Ver-01, is currently in the final stage of clinical trials (phase III). We are confident that we will receive authorisation to bring the first innovation in pain relief therapy in more than 30 years to the market in the next 24 months. Our aim is to replace opioids, which have many side effects, and to give the more than 100 million chronic pain patients around the world a new life with our blockbuster, Ver-01.

– leading OTC company focusing on chemical-free medicinal products (listed in June 2020)

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A pharmaceutical company working across Europe, PharmaSGP is one of the fastest-growing medicinal product companies in Europe and specialises in the development and sale of non-prescription medicinal products. The company now works in two European countries and has been expanding both its market presence in Europe and its brand portfolio. PharmaSGP recently acquired a brand portfolio from the pharmaceutical giant GSK worth 85 million euros. The portfolio includes well-known brands such as Formigran, Spalt and Baldriparan, among others. Significant organic growth and the successful implementation of the M&A strategy led to further strong growth in turnover of almost 40% in the first six months. PharmaSGP has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard) since June 2020.

 WHICH COMPANIES HAVE YOU ALREADY SOLD? CAN YOU GIVE US SOME EXAMPLES?

– PharmaSGP

(listed in June 2020)

– e-detailingplattform

(sold to Novartis)

Lactostop – the worldwide first lactase preparation in an applicator, used to treat lactose intolerance (sold to Dermapharm)

Yokebe – leading meal replacement (sold to Perrigo)

 WHAT TYPE OF PEOPLE ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

We are looking for people who really want to achieve and change something with their lives, along with a team of highly motivated and intelligent colleagues. A high level of commitment and very good analytical skills are other attributes that are important to us.

 WHICH ROLES ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN YOUR COMPANY? CAN YOU GIVE TWO EXAMPLES?

There are currently more than 100 open positions at our location in Gräfelfing near Munich alone.

Among the positions we are looking to fill is a Head of Internationalization/Area (w/m/d) for our SYNformulas subsidiary. SYNformulas is a global leading company with its focus on the research and marketing of intelligent bacteria for the treatment of allergies and gastrointestinal illnesses. As Head of Internationalization, based in Munich, you will lead a team of top talents and identify growth regions, especially in the APAC region and the USA. Upon successfully identifying them, you will expand our presence on site and take over the operational control of the business.

In addition, we are looking for a Head of Business Development (w/m/d) for our group. In this role, you will be continuously on the search for the next great idea with the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry. Your home base will be in Munich, but you will travel worldwide, visiting conferences and exclusive events and meeting outstanding researchers, business people, and CEOs, as well as marketing and AI experts. Your next stage of development: becoming a part of the management in one of our portfolio companies.

 DO I HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT PHARMACEUTICALS OR MEDICINE?

Definitely not. The vast majority of our employees had no experience of the pharmaceutical industry before they joined us. We are looking for colleagues who are ambitious in their work and learn quickly.

The rest comes on its own!

 DO YOU OFFER FLEXIBLE WORKING?

Yes, we offer flexible working. Our employees can work from home two days a week. We very much believe, though, that ideas and problems should be discussed face-to-face and on-site and that it is not optimal for teams to be managed by directors or managers who are not on-site with their teams. If you have ambitions of taking on a leadership role with us, you should be willing to spend most of your time in our offices. Of course you can still organise your working hours in a flexible way.

 WHAT IS THE APPLICATION PROCESS LIKE

We know that time is the most important resource for every applicant. We have therefore worked for years to develop a process that allows us to evaluate whether there is a good fit between you and us using as few questions as possible, particularly at the start of the process.

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FIRST INTRODUCTORY INTERVIEW

The introductory interview (via MS-Teams) forms the first step of our application process and takes approx. 30 min. We usually divide these 30 minutes into two equal segments. In the first 15 minutes, our goal is to learn more about you and your resume. In the second 15-minute segment, we address your questions and introduce you to what drives us every day, and what exactly we do at FUTRUE.

The interviewers for applicants for positions with management responsibility are always members of our management. For positions without management responsibility, the introductory interview is led by an experienced employee from our HR department—usually in cooperation with the team leader of the respective department.

2/4
CASE INTERVIEW

If you are still interested and you have also won us over, the second step, a case interview, will follow. You will develop and discuss your case on site, in a personal meeting with the hiring manager of the respective position.

For applicants for positions with management responsibility, we will reach out to you and then send a case for preparation approximately 2-3 weeks before the meeting.

The entire case interview takes approx. 60 minutes. About half of the time will be spent on the case discussion. Our goal is to understand how you approach tasks, how deeply you go into detail, and how you present your results. Naturally, you also need to get to know us better and ask all your questions about the position, as well as about our company group.

Most applicants really enjoy the casework and find it helpful for gaining a good insight into our culture and working methods.

If you have won us over in the case interview and have applied for a job without management responsibility, we will immediately send you a preliminary offer (salary, vacation days, general conditions), which we would be happy to discuss with you in more detail over the phone.

3/4
FINAL INTERVIEW

For applicants for positions with management responsibility, we will always conduct a third, personal interview with approx. 3-4 members of our management, at our location in Gräfelfing. The goal is to answer all your remaining questions and give you a deeper insight into precisely how we work. You also have the opportunity to get to know your future colleagues more closely.

If we have impressed you and you have also won us over, you will receive a preliminary offer from us within a few days, which we would be happy to go over with you in detail.

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CONTRACT AND ONBOARDING

It’s a match—you suit us and we suit you! If you have accepted our offer, we will be happy to send you your employment contract as quickly as possible. We utilize standard contracts, which are written in a simple and uncomplicated way.

And then: welcome to the FUTRUE family! After an onboarding process with the HR team, you will be welcomed by your team and begin the specialized onboarding process. We look forward to you starting with us!

 WHAT IS YOUR STAFF STRUCTURE LIKE?

 WHAT DOES YOUR MANAGEMENT TEAM LOOK LIKE?

We have a very diverse team. We look for compelling CVs, drive and strong analytical skills in our managers and board members.

We aren't interested in whether someone has previously gained pharmaceutical experience.

Take a look for yourself, though, here are a couple of CVs from our leadership team:

Dr. Clemens Fischer

Founder and CEO FUTRUE

Madlena Hohlefelder

CSO FUTRUE

David Rietbrock

CEO SYNformulas

Bastian Baasch

CEO FUTRUE Research & Science and VERTANICAL

Sebastian Hach

CCO/Managing Director of VERTANICAL

Natalie Weigand

Board PharmaSGP

Michael Rudolf

Board PharmaSGP

Dr. Max Dingler

Director of R&D and QA&RA

Dr. Janin Grajcarek

Director Clinical Strategy

Tobias Ostermann

Director Operations VERTANICAL

Alexander von Falkenhausen

Director Clinical Operations VERTANICAL

Clemens Eder

Chief Growth Officer SYNformulas

Max Schmidt

Chief Financial Officer SYNformulas & VERTANICAL

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