NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Let’s deal with the name first. If you’re like me, it would’ve been a distraction throughout the article if we hadn’t. The company is named after its German founder and patron, Andreas J. Rottendorf (1897-1971). As per the organization’s founding charter, it can’t be changed.

That same charter places Rottendorf Pharma GmbH, a CDMO with revenues around U.S. $120 million, under a charitable foundation. More than the name, the effect this arrangement has on its employees, customers, and those benefiting from the largesse of the Rottendorf Foundation, is the real market differentiator. And worth our investigation.

Gordon Haines, president and CEO of Rottendorf Pharmaceuticals U.S., and who is tasked with further penetrating the biopharma market here, says good-naturedly, “We’re certain the level of service and competency we provide, and our role in society, more than makes up for the fact the name has the word rotten in it.”

To understand this connection between philanthropy and pharmaceuticals, and the business model for success in a globally competitive service provider industry, along with Haines I spoke with Dr. Bernward Garthoff, chairman of the Rottendorf Foundation and Dr. Stephan Fleck, CEO Rottendorf Pharma GmbH.

Wanting To Work At Rottendorf

The desire to work for a larger cause, to somehow apply whatever we do for a living to benefit society, continues to rise.

David Brooks of The New York Times writes that “over the past generation many of the most talented people on Earth have tried to transform capitalism itself, to use the market to solve social problems. These are people with opposable minds: part profit-oriented and part purpose-oriented.”