It all started back in 1575
In 1937, Hermine Raths and Marguerite Steiger acquired Elephanten-Apotheke,
the oldest pharmacy in Zürich dating back to 1575.
T
he two entrepreneurs and graduates of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology were pioneers in their field. Not only did they purchase the oldest pharmacy in the city of Zürich, they founded OpoPharma AG, one of the first companies to import foreign pharmaceutical products in Switzerland.
Elephanten-Apotheke as a basis
Already as students Hermine Raths and Marguerite Steiger bought the Elephanten-Apotheke located in the Marktgasse in the historic city center of Zürich.
The Elephanten-Apotheke is the oldest drugstore of the city, first mentioned in 1575 already. This drugstore was the basis for the following business development of OpoPharma. After the death of the two founders, the Elephant-Apotheke was closed in 1994.
Pioneers in the distribution of pharmaceutical products
Opopharma AG, started out as an exclusive distributor in Switzerland for the Dutch firm, Organon. These women were Swiss pioneers in the field of the pharmaceutical distribution. Over the years Opopharma AG acquired, founded and again sold a considerable number of companies. After the death of the two founders the OPO Foundation was created and subsequently OpoPharma Vertriebs AG was established as the extrapolation of the pharmaceutical core business of Opopharma AG. The OPO Foundation and Opopharma AG are no longer involved in any pharmaceutical business. Opopharma Vertriebs AG is a company belonging to the Polymed Holding Group.
The two pioneers Hermine Raths and Marguerite Steiger were among the first women to sell pharmaceutical products in Switzerland. Eighty years later, OpoPharma Vertriebs AG carries on the legacy of its two founders.