“We have to be transparent down to the last person in the organization, what the organization is doing, and where the issues are. We have to celebrate wins. We have to talk about the good things people do.”
Markus Sieger serves as CEO of Polpharma Group, one of Central and Eastern Europe’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturers. With 25 years at the company, and 10 years as CEO, he has transformed the Polish generic and OTC medicines manufacturer into a regional powerhouse producing 400 million packages annually across Poland, Kazakhstan, and Western European markets. Markus will step down as CEO of Polpharma Group in January 2026, transitioning to the company’s supervisory board.
In this conversation recorded for the PharmaSource podcast, Markus reflects on building Polpharma’s market leadership through culture transformation and digital-first operations, the challenges that shaped his leadership journey, and the evolution of Europe’s generic medicines industry.
From Investment Banking to Pharmaceutical Leadership
After studying economics in Switzerland and working in information technology in the US, Markus spent 20 years as an investment banker focused on emerging markets.
“I’m a generalist. I bring a lot of expertise out of other industries into the pharmaceutical world, which I think is a little bit slow in adapting,” Markus explains. “They’re innovative in new products, but they’re slow in adapting to how to work the business models.”
He first encountered Polpharma 25 years ago as part of the privatization team helping investor Mr. Starak acquire the company. After serving on the supervisory board, the board nominated him as CEO 10 years ago during a critical transformation period.
“We had a very clear view on how we wanted to evolve and we needed a trusted environment to do that,” Markus recalls. “I run the company with the principles I would also run my own company. With respect, ownership, and dedication to the role.”
Building Culture as Competitive Advantage
When Markus assumed the CEO role, his first priority was to redefine the company’s purpose and values.
“First, we looked at the culture and strategic transformation of the company, identifying what our rights are to win in which markets,” Markus explains. “Then we broke it down in terms of portfolio, which products we need to really win in these markets.”
Markus challenged Central and Eastern Europe’s traditional hierarchical organizational structures, implementing transparency, empowerment, and celebration of achievements throughout Polpharma’s operations.
“In the past, in centuries, in Europe, organizations were very hierarchical,” he observes. “We need to be more collaborative. We need to empower managers. We have to be transparent down to the last person in the organization.”
The culture transformation’s reach surprised even Markus. During a visit to Polpharma’s Kazakhstan operations, he encountered the company’s three core values displayed prominently.
“I was in a meeting room in Kazakhstan a few years ago and somebody brought me a tea, and then I saw the values on the table,” he recalls. “I talked to this person and asked, ‘What do you think about our values?’ And the person said, ‘I live them every day and I even try to use them in my private life’”. Markus was humbled by the reach of those values.
Digital Transformation
Taking a Holistic Approach
Polpharma’s digitalization journey reflects Markus’ transactional thinking, examining processes from beginning to end rather than implementing point solutions.
“I’m convinced that you need your overall organization to be ready for digital. You can’t just go in for one area and just invest there and then forget everybody else,” Markus emphasizes.
The company digitized quality operations first, eliminating paper entirely from quality streams years ago. “There’s no one single paper flowing anymore. This really helps focus on the important matters; the quality of the products and seeing those potentially small deviations,” he explains.
Building the Foundation for AI
While many companies rush to implement generative AI, Markus focuses on building robust data architecture and governance first.
“We have invested for the last few years, so we have a world-class data architecture, which we can now use to go the next level into AI and digital solutions,” he says.
Polpharma already uses digital twins and AI for advanced analytics on the manufacturing floor. The next phase involves integrating systems to support complex decisions from start to finish.
Navigating Crisis
Manufacturing Under Pressure
The COVID-19 pandemic tested Polpharma’s operations and culture in unprecedented ways. The company had to increase production by up to 50% to supply hospitals with critical medications while implementing stringent testing protocols.
“We had containers at the factory, everybody got tested,” Markus recalls. “We were really lucky that only once we had to take a whole team out because one of them tested positive.”
The pressure on manufacturing teams, who were required to work on-site while most employees worked from home, created difficult leadership decisions.
“Everybody wanted to stay home to be protected, but they had to go every day to the factory and even perform higher than before,” Markus reflects. “They did a tremendous job. I cannot say it enough. We were able to really help save lives, which, ultimately, is our mission.”
War’s Impact
The war in Ukraine created different challenges, with employees called to military service and market disruptions across the region.
“We really do support Ukraine in this context. We donated a lot of medication in the beginning, and then when the system started working again, we invested in this market,” Markus explains. “We build up new brands, we bring new products, and we support the local teams however we can. We also see it as an obligation to continue doing so.”
Supply Security and European Self-Sufficiency
The API Challenge
Polpharma stands as Poland’s only manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), a strategic capability that gained prominence during COVID-19 supply disruptions.
“We are the only API manufacturer of active ingredients in Poland,” Markus notes. “This is an important matter today when you talk about supply security in Europe. Who is still producing these active ingredients, which have mostly been moved to Asia in terms of production place?”
A Call for European Coordination
Markus experienced firsthand the consequences of a fragmented European pharmaceutical supply when the French ambassador requested emergency supplies of a product Polpharma manufactures exclusively for Poland.
“I got a phone call from the French ambassador, and he said, ‘I need this product which you’re producing in your factory in Warsaw, in France, beginning in one week. We’re running out,'” Markus recalls.
Export restrictions prevented Polpharma from supplying France, even in crisis. “This is exactly the problem which is now being addressed in the European space,” he explains. “We need a different approach to how we can secure supply for patients in Europe. It cannot be that in one country you have these products and in the other one you have the others.”
The EU established HERA (Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority) to coordinate crisis responses, but Markus argues that more systemic coordination is needed.
Leading the Generic and Biosimilar Industry
Advocating for Affordable Medicines
As President of Medicines for Europe, Markus represents the entire generic and biosimilar industry, a role he’ll also step down from at year-end as he transitions to Polpharma’s supervisory board.
The association’s mission centers on ensuring affordable medications for all Europeans. “In Europe, 80% of the drugs are generic. In the US, it’s 90% of the volume,” Markus explains. “Most people don’t know this. We are a substantive player.”
Changing Perceptions
Despite representing the majority of pharmaceutical volume, generics and biosimilars still face perception challenges.
“People still think that generics are sometimes still a second-class drug where chemically it’s exactly the same drug,” Markus notes. “On the biosimilar side now, the same thing is happening. But, there is huge benefit if all of a sudden you can treat four times more patients for the same amount of money with a biosimilar.”
He attributes persistent misperceptions partly to terminology. “Why is it not called the generic of a biotech product? But it’s not a bio-generic, it’s a biosimilar. So people say it’s similar,” he observes. “If you have a severe illness, people may think, ‘No, I would like to stay on the innovator because I don’t trust this product.'”
Regional Strategy and Market Selection
Polpharma maintains its strongest position in Poland as market leader while expanding selectively across Central Asia and Central and Eastern Europe.
“Poland has been the biggest market and it continues to be the largest market,” Markus explains. “We are the market leader and are growing constantly here.”
The company shifted its portfolio mix significantly toward over-the-counter (OTC) products, now representing nearly 40% of group-wide sales. “We have very clear focus areas right now. It is Central Asia, Kazakhstan, we see this as a growth region where we have a very large footprint, and a highly motivated and very capable team,” he adds.
Markus emphasizes that success requires a deep understanding of individual markets rather than applying one-size-fits-all approaches.
“All these markets are different. People think you can take a portfolio of products moving into the next market, but everything is different,” he explains. “The top 20 products are different because standards of care are different. Even on the OTC side, that goes through families and generations—what people really like to take for a flu or for a headache.”
This creates barriers to entry. “It needs an understanding of those markets. I think we are strong in really understanding patients’ needs and healthcare system needs,” Markus notes.
Maintaining Innovation Momentum
Despite a quarter-century in pharmaceuticals, Markus remains humbled by the industry’s innovation capacity.
“What always fascinates me is the innovative side and the whole value chain of pharma, which is incredible,” he reflects. “It’s a never-ending path of innovation. New products, new applications of products, better ways of manufacturing, safer ways of manufacturing, safer applications of the same drugs for people more convenient or more elderly, doing drug combinations.”
As Markus transitions to the supervisory board in January 2026, he leaves Polpharma well-positioned for continued growth. The company’s investments in data architecture, culture, and regional presence provide a foundation for the next phase.
For the generic and biosimilar industry more broadly, Markus sees continued opportunity as new innovative products focus increasingly on rare diseases and complex treatments.
