Duchesnay today: committed to excellence, innovation, integrity and collaboration
The new Duchesnay ownership and senior management team is committed to maintaining the company’s long-held values and vision, as well as its tradition of excellence, innovation, integrity, and collaboration. It is dedicated to corporate social responsibility as well as continuing the successful development of the group’s rich pipeline of promising new treatments in important therapeutic areas and expects to drive significant future growth.
The Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group
The Duchesnay group consists of five pharmaceutical companies to meet the needs of patients in Canada, the U.S. and abroad:
- Duchesnay (Canada) and Duchesnay USA, both dedicated to women’s health
- Médunik Canada and Medunik USA, which provide treatments for rare diseases; and
- Analog Pharma, an American generic drugs company, specializing in authorized generics and orphan drugs.
From its state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Blainville, Quebec, Duchesnay exports its innovative treatments to more than 50 countries.
Duchesnay and Medunik, through their proprietary research and development, and through partnerships, offer innovative treatments for a variety of medical conditions in women’s health, urology, oncology as well as for rare diseases.
The group of companies recognizes the dedication and professionalism of its employees and promotes a positive work culture and flexible work environment. It is deeply committed to environmental responsibility and giving back to the community through the support of various charitable organizations.
Our Values
In addition to ensuring our compliance with every law and regulation governing the pharmaceutical industry, Duchesnay abides by the highest internal standards of excellence, innovation, integrity and collaboration.
These values are what have earned Duchesnay the respect, trust and support of stakeholders in the medical community worldwide.
Excellence
Guided by our commitment to continuous improvement, efficiency and safety, we add value to everything we do daily. We are results-oriented and constantly monitor our progress, always with deep concern for quality, health and respect for professional standards.
Innovation
Proud of the products we offer, we never stop innovating and invest in research and development in order to present new and better treatment options to improve the health of women and their family members at every stage of life.
Integrity
Every decision we make is guided by our unwavering commitment to honesty, openness and transparency.
Collaboration
Collaboration amongst our employees, partners and suppliers is key to our success. By leveraging our ideas, talents, expertise and common strengths, we contribute to improving the patient’s well-being.
Social responsibility
Duchesnay and its employees are deeply committed to giving back to our community. That is why we are actively involved with several charitable organizations, including Fitspirit (promoting physical activity by teenage girls), Moisson Laurentides (local food bank) and The Cure Foundation (breast cancer research).
Environmental responsibility
Duchesnay makes every effort to minimize its environmental footprint. We support various recycling programs and are proud members of the Health Products Stewardship Association (Medications Return Programs/drug disposal), Duchesnay has implemented a variety of ecological initiatives, including opting for electronic rather than printed formats, prioritizing the use of eco-responsible materials and systems in our construction and renovation projects, and the installation of a geothermal heating and cooling system at our facilities.
Perinatal health initiatives supported by Duchesnay
Duchesnay supports a number of perinatal health initiatives involving university research and education for healthcare professionals in the field. To provide women and their families with clear and reliable information about how to help ensure a healthy pregnancy, we also support organizations and media aimed at non-professionals.
Key organizations supported by Duchesnay
Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada
The SOGC was initially founded to promote physician education, research and excellence in care. Its interests have broadened to include global women’s health, advocacy, Aboriginal health, public education and patient safety in obstetrics and gynecology.
Canadian Foundation for Women’s Health
This is the largest Canadian foundation that funds research projects aimed at improving women’s health at every stage of life. The CFWH also funds training programs for healthcare professionals in developing countries, as well as medical residencies, in an effort to improve maternal and neonatal health.
Other organizations
Duchesnay supports initiatives developed by universities, healthcare professional associations, patient associations and media specializing in women’s health.
Some examples:
June Spina Bifida Awareness Month activities (French article), which encourages women to take folic acid before and during their pregnancy to reduce the risk of birth defects
Publication of pregnancy-related educational materials on the Mother for Life Web portal
Residencies caring for women in developing countries
The Canadian Foundation for Women’s Health awards two Duchesnay fellowships every year to obstetrics/gynecology residents who opt to do a rotation in a healthcare center in a developing country.
These residents are eager to share their knowledge and learn from the healthcare professionals and patients they encounter during their residencies. In recent years, fellowships have involved residencies in Kenya and Angola.
The selection committee for these fellowships is made up of representatives of the Canadian Foundation for Women’s Health (CFWH), the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) and the Association of Academic Professionals in Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Canada (APOG).
The history of Duchesnay
In 1970
When Louis Boivin, President and owner of Groupe Pharmaceutique Boivin, first acquired Canadian pharmaceutical company Duchesnay, the mission of the family-run business was simply to distribute over-the-counter and prescription medications to pharmacies throughout Quebec.
However, in the late 1980s, a member of the Boivin family experienced a very difficult pregnancy that had a significant impact on her health and well-being. Although her physician had prescribed a medication to treat her condition, her pharmacist refused to fill the prescription due to a lack of reliable scientific evidence regarding its safety for use during pregnancy.
Seeing how the lack of information about the safe use of medications in pregnancy meant that many pregnant women were suffering needlessly, the Boivin family decided to change their company’s mission. The company then shifted its focus to ensuring that pregnant women who required pharmacological treatment, whether for pre-existing or pregnancy-related conditions, had access to reliable medical information and to medications whose use had been proven safe both for them and for their unborn or newborn babies.
In 1992
The company officially assumed its new mission with the founding of the Louis-Boivin Family Pharmaceutical Chair on Medications, Pregnancy and Lactation at the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Université de Montréal (at Sainte-Justine Hospital for Children.
Thus, Duchesnay became the first pharmaceutical company dedicated to safeguarding the health of pregnant women and their babies.
Since then, Duchesnay has devoted a significant portion of its annual budget to funding research into drugs that are safe to use during pregnancy. The company manufactures and distributes these medications and provides the medical community with the current, evidence-based data they need to prescribe the optimal pharmacotherapy to pregnant women while protecting their unborn babies.