Neopharm was first founded in 1941 under the direction of Dr. Leopold Goldschmidt (a pediatrician by profession) to serve as the representative for the American company Lederle Labs in Israel (then under the British Mandate), as well as Syria and Turkey.
During our humble beginnings, the company’s offices were located in an apartment that served as a small healthcare clinic for children, as well as the residence of the Goldschmidt family. In 1951, Zvi Sarel, Dr. Goldschmidt’s son in law, joined the company. In those days, in addition to Dr. Goldschmidt and Mr. Sarel, a secretary and an accountant worked on a part time basis for the company.
A major turning point for the company occurred when the company received the marketing rights for an animal food additive called “Aurofac.” In order to import the early deliveries, the owners were forced to borrow money from friends. As the Aurofac orders grew, so did the company, enabling the marketing of more products. In 1955 the company was namedNeopharm. As the representative of Lederle in Israel, Neopharm began marketing “Aureomycin” – the first-ever antibiotic for treating bronchitis. This medicine was commercially very successful in Israel.
During the sixties, Neopharm received marketing rights for various products from different companies, including the Israeli representation of the German pharmaceutical company Hermal (now operating under the name Almirall).
1980 – 2000
In 1980, Sarel’s son in law, David Fuhrer, joined the company as Head of Commerce. Mr. Fuhrer took over the management of the chemical and veterinarian departments, which quickly grew to be industry leaders of their own right. In the animal food additives sector, Neopharm lead the market with products like “Cygro,” “Aurofac,” and “Avotan”. In the chemical sector, Neopharm was marketing composite material “Rohacell,” food processing enzymes, and raw materials used in the plastics industry. In 1986, Mr. Fuhrer took over the management of the medical department as well.
In the 1980’s, Neopharm started its own distribution network to pharmacies in Israel and subsequently became one of the country’s leading pharmaceutical wholesalers. During that time Neopharm began an innovative campaign advertising the multi-vitamin Centrum to Israelis on billboards and on television. In 1991, Neopharm moved to its current home in the city of Petah Tikva. During the 1990’s, the company developed further and began representing large pharmaceutical companies including Whitehall, Organon, Park- Davis. This transformed the company into a serious contender in the market for prescription and non-prescription medications including Lipitor, Neurontin, Zoton, Robitussin, Listerine (among other brands), and various birth control pills, fertility medications and more.
2000-2010
The new millennia heralded a period of mergers and acquisitions. In 2003, Neopharm acquired Eldan Electronic Instruments Ltd., a company that specializes in both medical and life science equipment. Later on, in 2005, Neopharm acquired Promedico LTD, which specialized, much like Neopharm, in the marketing of medicines and consumer healthcare products. As a result of this acquisition, a Home Care unit was added to Neopharm Group. In 2008, Genmedix’ assets were acquired from Merck-Serono. Genmedix assets added expertise in importation and sales of non-registered medicines under named-patient regulations and generic medicines.
In 2009, Neopharm acquired Doctor Or, an Israeli company with a leading dermo-cosmetic brand. During the same year, Eldan acquired Dexmor Ltd., a leader in the field of clinical laboratory diagnostics, including: immunology, virology and microbiology. In addition, Dexmor specialized in research products, including: molecular biology software, and histopathology.
