Our Heritage

Dompé’s heritage dates back over 130 years

From our roots as Milan’s first compounding pharmacy, today we are an international company that straddles both primary care and biopharma. Our hunger for progress and passion for science enables us to push our R&D into new and unexpected areas. Our substantial and diverse portfolio of brands has grown over the years, which started with our flagship product, Guaiacalcium, a cough medication first launched in 1940.

1890

Gian Antonio Dompé is a pharmaceutical chemistry expert. His son, Piedmontese Onorato Dompé, chooses to follow in his father’s footsteps and studies Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmacy at the Royal University in Turin. Soon after graduation, he establishes the pharmaceutical production laboratory Dompé-Adami in Milan.

1895

The success of the Dompé-Adami laboratory enables Onorato Dompé to acquire one of the oldest pharmacies in Milan, the Farmacia Centrale, in Piazza della Scala, and his father helps him run the business. Over the following years he expands, establishing pharmacies in Palermo, Milan, and Ponte Chiasso (Switzerland).

1902

Onorato Dompé founds the Farmacie Inglesi Dompé chain. A forward thinker from the very beginning, he produces drugs according to the innovative British school. He also moves his fast-growing production lab to another area of Milan, which is conveniently close to the city’s main hospital. Dompé became the first in Italy to introduce innovative methodologies, creating new drugs such as "Ferro Indoloro". At the time it was the only remedy for Anemia.

1924

Onorato Dompé sells his four pharmacies to focus on production and moves the laboratory to a larger facility.

1940

Onorato’s son, Franco Dompé, also chooses to follow in his father’s footsteps. Following a degree in chemistry and pharmacy at the University of Pavia, he sets up his own production lab in Milan. Onorato develops a cough medication called Creosotina, which is then perfected by Franco and evolves into Guaiacalcium, Dompé’s flagship product. This is the start of Dompé farmaceutici, with many other household drugs soon to follow, including Artrosil and Tribenzoica.

1943 - 1944

A major obstacle appears in their path - World War Two - and both Onorato’s and Franco’s businesses struggle to survive. Onorato’s production plant is the hardest hit as it not only sustains damage from the British Royal Air Force’s bombing offensive, but the following year the German army seizes many of its materials.

1946

Following the war, Franco Dompé reconstructs his father’s building and moves his business there. This building is still Dompé farmaceutici’s headquarters today.

1950s

The newly renovated Dompé farmaceutici’s headquarters is complete. An investment in new production machinery enables medicines to be produced in vials. This unleashes a new era of productivity. Dompé farmaceutici can now produce drugs on an industrial scale, and the company expands quickly. Patents are non-existent, and while other companies are copying drugs, Dompé farmaceutici instead focuses its investments on pioneering research and innovation. Two new drugs are developed and launched during this time including Cardioritmon and Bioritmon.

1956

With the VII Winter Olympic Games taking place in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Dompé farmaceutici sponsors the event providing athletes with necessary medication.

1960s

Franco Dompé launches his tenth product: pi-Acca 4, an antispasmodic to treat abdominal pain.

1963

Dompé farmaceutici makes its big screen debut in the Oscar-winning film Ieri, Oggi, Domani, in which the actress Sophia Loren attempts to give one of her children Guaiacalcium cough syrup.

1970s - 1980s

Franco’s son, Sergio Dompé, joins the company and defines a bold new business strategy: increase the company’s investment in research, focus on innovation, and build partnerships with key international players.

1988

Aware of the vital role biotechnology plays in the pharmaceutical industry, and its poor limited application in Italy, Sergio Dompé forges a new path for the future of Dompé. He sets up Dompé Biotech to bring groundbreaking biotechnological products to market.

1993

Dompé opens its production hub at L’Aquila (160.000 m2), initially focusing on the production of drugs for primary care. From 1993 to 2018, the hub receives investment of over € 200 million.

1998

Set up of the Biotech GMP approved plant in L'Aquila.

2004

Our team designs Reparixin, an investigational molecule that aims to reduce the body’s inflammatory response as a result of several diseases and conditions. This novel molecule greatly impacts the scientific community, initiating a wide range of international research.

2005

Biogen Idec and Dompé farmaceutici form Biogen Dompé, a joint venture with the mission to identify new biotechnological solutions for treating multiple sclerosis.

2008

Amgen and Dompé farmaceutici form Amgen Dompé, a joint venture focusing on the development of new drugs for oncology and nephrology.

2009

Dompé launches its Q-rare department with the goal of offering innovative solutions for the treatment of rare diseases with high unmet medical needs.

2010 - 2012

Dompé acquires the rights to develop, produce and market a therapeutic application for Nerve Growth Factor protein (NGF), a discovery made by Rita Levi Montalcini and Stanley Cohen for which they won the 1986 NobelPrize in Medicine. With research underway into this biotech drug, Dompé expands its research and biotech production facilities at the L’Aquila hub. During this time, Dompé also acquires more than 30% of Philogen, a biotech company focusing on the development of oncological drugs. Dompé also launches a new primary care drug, Okitask, for headache and pain relief, quickly establishing its place in medicine cabinets across homes throughout Italy.

2013

Following R&D activities into rhNGF, the first international clinical trial of this biotech drug kicks off. More than 37 European research centers are involved in the trial. The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) designates “orphan drug” to rhNGF.

2016

Dompé acquires the pharma division of the pharmaceutical company Gruppo Bracco.

2017

Dompé launches its Primary unit, which develops and distributes ethical and OTC drugs, dietary supplements, medical devices and cosmetics. EMA’s Committee for Human Medicinal Products (CHMP) and the European Commission authorize the marketing of cenegermin.

2018

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorizes the marketing of rhNGF. The scope of this therapeutic solution is proven by FDA’s designation as “Breakthrough Therapy”. In the meantime, Dompé continues to develop new drugs for primary care, including Euclorina, a disinfectant solution.

2020

The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) authorizes the marketing of rhNGF in China.

Meanwhile, Exscalate become the centerpiece of a European project to defeat COVID-19, Exscalate4CoV (E4C).

2021

Inauguration in Naples of Exscalate's innovative drug discovery laboratory. In the same year Dompé introduces Bioritmon, a novel dietary supplement to support the immune system and help counter oxidative stress.

2022

Dompé becomes the first private user of Leonardo, the fourth most powerful supercomputer hosted at the Tecnopolo in Bologna.