The company was founded in Parma in 1935 when Giacomo Chiesi, a chemist who dreamed of doing research, bought the Laboratorio Farmaceutico Parmense and embarked on his entrepreneurial adventure. In the early forties the laboratory started to expand and sell its products abroad, exporting drugs to Eritrea and Austria. However, in 1944 the war broke out and part of the company was destroyed during a bombing raid, bringing all activities to a stop until the war ended.
When the laboratory resumed its activities, the first scientific collaborator was hired and Chiesi launched its first penicillin-based ointment. At the time, Giacomo Chiesi was considering buying some land to build a real factory. The new pharmaceutical factory was launched in 1955, had 50 employees and manufactured an extensive range of successful drugs
In 1966 Giacomo Chiesi handed over the management of the company to his two sons Alberto and Paolo. Chiesi Farmaceutici was a small company at that time, yet already looking towards international markets. Alberto and Paolo started a continuous expansion and internationalisation process by opening the first office abroad, in Brazil in the late seventies. 1979 represented a significant turning point with the launch of Clenil, a cortisone preparation indicated for asthma, allergic rhinitis and airway inflammation. Clenil is a successful drug, especially in a market where effective treatments for such diseases are so few and it lead the way for Chiesi Farmaceutici’s commitment to respiratory diseases.
Almost ten years after the Brazilian adventure, the Group’s international expansion is very strong, both in the European and non-European countries. Since 1987, Chiesi has opened affiliates in Pakistan, France, Spain, Greece, the United Kingdom, Austria and the Eastern European countries, the United States, Germany, the Maghreb countries, Turkey, Bulgaria, China, and Scandinavia.
Expansion to Czech market started by aquisition of Torrex Pharma, a company established in Austria in 1994. Torrex Pharma entered Czech market in 1995 and in 1999 the first local office was established in Prague. Since then, Torrex Pharma expanded also to other markets such as Slovenia, Hungary, Poland, Baltic countries and former USSR and Yugoslavia states. In 2006 the company changed name to Torrex Chiesi CZ, and started to specialize on respiratory, neonatology, anesteziology, intensive medicine, cardiology and other therapeutic areas. The final change occured in 2011, when Torrex Chiesi has changed to Chiesi CZ.
