From Pharmaceuticals to Multimodal Healthcare Solutions

The path towards a modern healthcare company

Following the sudden death of Gustav Pütter, his son, Dr. med. Sigurd Pütter, took over the company in 1977. The physician transformed MEDICE into a modern pharmaceutical company. Under his leadership, the development of prescription medicines such as Medikinet (methylphenidate) for the treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) began. In 2002, Sigurd Pütter’s daughter Katja joined the company, followed shortly thereafter by her husband Richard Ammer, both also physicians. Initially working alongside Sigurd Pütter, they developed MEDICE into the leading provider in the field of pharmacological ADHD treatment for children, adolescents and adults in Europe. Today, most patients in this indication are treated with medicines from Iserlohn. Katja Pütter-Ammer describes this part of the company’s history as follows: “My father believed in evidence-based medicine, and scientific progress was what drove him. He was also someone who truly cared. It was important to him to look at where we were needed and where we could make a contribution as a pharmaceutical manufacturer. When the topic of ADHD emerged, paediatricians told him that they needed support in treatment. That was how development of Medikinet began, despite resistance from people around him, as not everyone was a fan of the idea. My husband and I joined shortly afterwards, and together we made it a success.” Katja Pütter-Ammer describes working with her father as uncomplicated and enriching: “I have to say that we never had a single conflict, as is often the case in many family businesses. We got along very well, and in my view that gave the company a great deal of strength.”

MEDICE becomes the Health Family

The question “where can we make a contribution as a pharmaceutical manufacturer?”, which shaped Sigurd Pütter’s actions, also drives Katja Pütter-Ammer and Richard Ammer. “From this mission, which is now actually around 50 years old, we derived the comprehensive understanding of health that the MEDICE Health Family stands for,” they explain.

What does this concept, first presented in early 2022, stand for? The goal of MEDICE is to become a leading developer and provider of diverse healthcare solutions. Pharmaceuticals are combined with developments in the areas of digital health and nutritional concepts to create a comprehensive prevention and therapy management approach. “Of course, our pharmaceutical expertise and well-researched, evidence-based medicines remain at the centre. But it is no longer just the medicine, it is more than that,” says Katja Pütter-Ammer. “We are pursuing entirely new approaches towards multimodal therapies.”

A visible symbol of the MEDICE Health Family is the new brand identity. According to Katja Pütter-Ammer, it was particularly important to emphasise the family aspect. At the same time, the dimensions of scientific excellence, evidence and sustainability were also to be reflected in the new logo through the interaction of two shapes and colours. The shapes, a circle and a stylised leaf, were graphically separated from the existing logo and rearranged. “The new identity therefore builds on the existing one, preserving tradition while looking towards the future,” says Katja Pütter-Ammer.

What do multimodal healthcare solutions look like?

According to Richard Ammer, one example of the move towards multimodal therapy is the combination of pharmacological ADHD treatment with digital solutions such as the Digital Health Application (DiGA) hiToco®, developed by Health Family member Medigital GmbH. This is a parent training programme consisting of five consecutive modules with various chapters. Parents and other caregivers receive background information on ADHD and learn how to adapt their parenting behaviour together with the child in an interactive way.

The programme begins by addressing the parents’ own challenges and stress levels, then examines family relationships with a particular focus on strengthening the relationship with the child, and finally addresses the child’s individual behavioural problems.

“We take driving lessons, but most of us are never actually taught how parenting works. With children who show behavioural problems, you may need a few more driving lessons. There are manuals for this, and they are evidence-based, but it is difficult for parents to work through them on their own. A psychotherapist can try to teach them, but practice must take place, above all, between sessions. With hiToco®, parents now have a good opportunity to practise and learn how to deal better with their child’s behavioural disorders,” Richard Ammer explains regarding the value of hiToco®.

The Digital Health Application was developed under the scientific leadership of Prof. Dr. Anja Görtz-Dorten and Prof. Dr. Manfred Döpfner at the Centre for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Cologne University Hospital. hiToco® has since been evaluated in studies and is now intended for inclusion in the DiGA directory. In the foreseeable future, hiToco® will therefore also be available by prescription. Self-paying users can already use the programme today.

A nutrition concept specifically designed for ADHD patients is also under development. Richard Ammer explains: “What, and how, we eat can have an impact on our physical and mental development. A varied breakfast is particularly important for children, as it provides the nutrients their bodies need for healthy development.”

As part of this concept, the development of a healthy breakfast product is also planned. “It is very important for us to offer something here, as many of these children leave home without breakfast,” Katja Pütter-Ammer adds to her husband’s explanation.

Focus on gut health

Nutritional concepts are also being developed within the MEDICE Health Family beyond ADHD. The focus of a concept currently offered through MEDICE subsidiary Theralution, which includes dietary fibre, lactic acid-producing bacterial cultures, aloe vera juice and a fermentate, is gut health.

“The purpose of the concept is to enable patients, both those with irritable bowel syndrome and those with food intolerances, for whom there is currently no real solution, to live a normal life again,” explains Dr. rer. nat. Uwe Baumann, Managing Director of the MEDICE Health Family and responsible for the Primary & Consumer Care (PCC) division.

“We believe that a low-fibre diet poses a significant risk. For this reason, the concept includes the gradual and careful introduction of dietary fibre,” he emphasises.

However, the centrepiece of the concept is the fermentate, which is obtained from fruit and vegetables. Through fermentation, irritants such as lectins, lactose and gluten are removed, while ingredients important for gut health are retained. According to Baumann, these include biogenic amines, which support cellular metabolism through reparative effects, as well as short-chain fatty acids such as propionate. Propionate is converted into butyrate in the gut.

“There are studies showing that this butyrate can contribute very rapidly and significantly to cell regeneration and the reduction of inflammation,” says Uwe Baumann.

The nutrition concept is currently still in the testing phase with medical practices. In the future, however, it will also be distributed through pharmacies, and further concepts for different needs are planned.

Three Es for sustainable4U

One aspect to which the MEDICE Health Family attaches great importance in all considerations regarding corporate direction and future development is responsibility towards people and the environment. MEDICE has established a subsidiary for this purpose: sustainable4U GmbH. It supports the MEDICE Health Family with long-term projects in the transformation from a pharmaceutical manufacturer into a sustainability-focused and broadly active healthcare company.

“We always say that we work across the levels of the three Es: Entstehen (Creating), Entwickeln (Developing) and Erhalten (Preserving),” explains Katja Pütter-Ammer regarding the activities of sustainable4U GmbH.

In relation to the Creating level, the focus is on caring for natural habitats. “Here at our site we also have a large garden, the Health Family Garden, where we keep bees and have planted wildflower meadows,” says Katja Pütter-Ammer.

The company also maintains its own vegetable garden, supplying employees according to a seasonal and regional concept.

For the second level, Developing, sustainable4U GmbH designs sustainable promotional materials. “We no longer visit our healthcare partners with ballpoint pens from China. In the long term, we want to offer only sustainable products,” emphasises Uwe Baumann.

For example, small jars of honey are distributed in pharmacies and medical practices as promotional items, with part of the honey coming from the company’s own bee colonies.

“We have a scoring model within the company that evaluates every promotional item according to sustainability criteria. Nothing that falls below a certain score may be distributed,” adds Katja Pütter-Ammer.

At the Preserving level, sustainable4U develops concepts aimed at conserving resources. Through cooperation with the company Green Guides, optimisation of processes in large-scale kitchens helps reduce food waste and conserve resources.

Well positioned for the future

Reliable supply is becoming increasingly important for pharmacies in light of the growing issue of supply shortages. MEDICE manufactures medicines in Germany at its sites in Iserlohn and Ringelheim (Schaper & Brümmer).

“We are clearly committed to Germany as a manufacturing location and thereby make a reliable contribution to securing the supply of medicines,” says Richard Ammer.

The company is also engaged in social initiatives.

“Growing environmental problems, social pressures such as stress and loneliness, as well as poor nutrition and a lack of physical activity, are often triggers for serious illnesses. There is an urgent need for action at all levels,” he emphasises.

The MEDICE Health Family therefore focuses on projects specifically designed to counteract these shortcomings and thereby prevent the development of subsequent health problems. The motto behind this commitment is “Together for a Healthier World.”

This is what the MEDICE Health Family stands for, and why it considers itself well positioned for the future of the company.