Research and innovation are part of our DNA

In the epic of Bracco, there is a magic word, which in reality holds nothing magical: Iopamidol. And it is not alone in the Bracco family, which contains other formulations with hard to spell names, which nonetheless have reached the same milestone: improving the conditions for those dealing with disease. Behind all of this, of course, is the ingenuity of people who have worked alongside the Braccos over the years. Like Professor Ernst Felder. The future? “For us, it lies in research, which can never stop,” states Diana Bracco. “The proof is our products for magnetic resonance and the discovery of microbubbles for ultrasound. Diagnostic imaging will continue to provide ever greater possibilities to effectively guide surgeons’ work thanks to fluorescent molecules and new devices. We are also focusing on the use of artificial intelligence, which allows us to tailor prevention and diagnosis in a way never seen before. Just think that through analysis of the first scans of those sick with Covid, we were able to predict the progression of the disease in individual patients by applying AI.” For Bracco, however, research does not only mean a series of laboratory breakthroughs, but also a vigorous practice of scouting the best international start-ups and of acquisitions that aim to consolidate the Group’s operations. From the historic Squibb Diagnostics acquisition in the 1990s which continues to be beneficial in the US market, to the British Blue Earth Diagnostics, a company in molecular imaging and the treatment of tumor diseases. The 428-million-euro acquisition also earned Bracco the M&A Award for the best merger and acquisition “Italy Abroad” operation of 2019. It was a move that sent a strong signal to the international business community with a clear message: the Bracco family believes in the Group’s future.

Text adapted from the book: Andrea Zaghi, Memory and the future. At the heart of industrial innovation in the third millennium, Luiss University Press, Rome 2021.