The Supervisory Board of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA will propose that the next Annual General Meeting on May 13, 2022 elect Dr. Christoph Zindel, 60, to the Supervisory Board. If elected, he will also join the Supervisory Board’s Audit Committee. As announced last year, Klaus-Peter Müller, 77, will leave the Supervisory Board at the end of the Annual General Meeting and turn over the Audit Committee’s chairmanship to Susanne Zeidler, 61. The next regular election of all shareholder representatives is scheduled for the 2025 Annual General Meeting.
Dr. Zindel has been a member of the Siemens Healthineers Managing Board since October 2019. He began his career as a practicing physician in surgery, internal medicine and nuclear medicine, before moving into the healthcare industry in 1998 as a Segment Manager at Siemens Healthcare. There he held various management positions in the magnetic resonance-tomography business division. After three years in the U.S., lastly as head of the Business Unit Hematology and Urinanalysis at Beckman Coulter in Miami, he returned to Siemens Healthineers in 2015 and headed the Business Line Magnetic Resonance. In 2018, Dr. Zindel was appointed President Diagnostic Imaging.
Klaus-Peter Müller has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of Fresenius SE (today Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA) and its Audit Committee since 2008. From 2010 until 2021 he also belonged to the Supervisory Board of Fresenius Management SE. A highly regarded financial expert, Klaus-Peter Müller worked at Commerzbank AG from 1966 to 2008 and served from 2001 to 2008 as Chief Executive Officer.
Wolfgang Kirsch, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Fresenius, said: “Dr. Christoph Zindel has a background in medicine, extensive international experience and comprehensive knowledge of the healthcare industry. This makes him an outstanding addition to our Board. As for Klaus-Peter Müller, on behalf of the Supervisory Board I want to thank him for his long connection with Fresenius and his many important contributions to our success.”
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, e.g. changes in business, economic and competitive conditions, regulatory reforms, results of clinical trials, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. Fresenius does not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.
The European Commission (EC) has granted Fresenius Kabi the marketing authorization for Stimufend®, the company’s pegfilgrastim biosimilar, for all approved indications of the reference medicine. Stimufend® stimulates the growth of certain white blood cells, which are essential to prevent or fight infections, a common life-threatening risk in patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy. This is the company’s first approved biosimilar molecule used in oncology and its second biosimilar approved in Europe, expanding its autoimmune disease and oncology focused product portfolio.
Fresenius Kabi is investing about €35 million to modernize the company’s production facility in Louviers, France. Two sterilization units and two production lines for Freeflex® infusion bags will be housed in a 3,300-square-meter (35,500-square-foot) building being constructed on the site and will replace the existing production facilities. In this way, the company will continue to ensure the availability of these important products into the future. The modernization is scheduled for completion before the end of 2023. Fresenius Kabi employs some 370 people at the Louviers plant and has a total of about 1,500 employees in France.
In this year's ranking, the non-profit organization CDP has confirmed Fresenius' classification in the second-highest category B. Fresenius is thus once again one of the leading companies in the health care sector. Companies in categories A and B are characterized by transparency, coordinated climate protection measures and the implementation of corresponding best-practice approaches. CDP is one of the most renowned climate and environmental rankings in the capital market. More than 590 investors use the annual results to evaluate climate protection activities and climate-related risks and opportunities of the companies assessed.
Fresenius has been included again in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI Europe). The DJSI Europe index represents the top 20 percent based on the international investment company S&P Global’s analysis of their economic, environmental, and social performance. Fresenius achieved improvements in many categories, the most significant ones in the areas of Cybersecurity, Data Protection and Human Rights. In the area of Partnerships towards sustainable healthcare, Fresenius was awarded the maximum score in the rating 2021.
Fresenius Kabi and Omnicell, Inc are collaborating to provide U.S. hospitals and health systems with innovative new pharmacy technology designed to support safety and efficiency in dispensing of controlled substances in patient care areas. Omnicell has designed new cassettes for its Controlled Substance Dispenser specifically for Fresenius Kabi Simplist® MicroVault® pre-filled syringes. The new cassettes provide customers with more flexibility and enhanced options for controlled substance management. The collaboration with Omnicell is an example of the continued investment Fresenius Kabi has made in its Simplist® portfolio. The investment has resulted in more Simplist® products for customers to choose from including those that offer radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.
Fresenius Kabi has agreed to collaborate with Phlow Corporation, a public benefit company, to expand access to affordable sterile injectables formulated for U.S. children’s hospitals and to help strengthen the supply chain for U.S.-sourced API and essential medicines. The companies will work together to supply private-labelled products, co-develop and manufacture novel products and make essential medicines rapidly available in the event of a public health emergency.
Fresenius Kabi has agreed to collaborate with Phlow Corporation, a public benefit company, to expand access to affordable sterile injectables formulated for U.S. children’s hospitals and to help strengthen the supply chain for U.S.-sourced API and essential medicines. The companies will work together to supply private-labelled products, co-develop and manufacture novel products and make essential medicines rapidly available in the event of a public health emergency.
The price increase for hospital services in Germany has been set at 2.29% for 2022. As it is subject to negotiations at the state level as well as individual hospital discounts, the final price increase on the individual hospital level will, however, be lower.