Teodoro L. Ferrer, President of Generika Drugstore, received Enterprise Asia’s Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Award (APEA) in the Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Industry during the awards ceremony on December 7, held at the Rizal Ballroom of Makati Shangri-La.
Enterprise Asia is the leading non-governmental organization for entrepreneurship in the region. The organization believes that entrepreneurship is an engine toward economic and social development. With over 2,000 member-entrepreneurs, Enterprise Asia aims to create synergistic platforms to further enhance regional interaction and cooperation.
Recipients of this year’s APEA were hand-picked by the panel of judges composed of the Enterprise Asia executive committee and an international advisory committee. Nominees were judged based on their value creation, business sustainability and philanthropy work, among others. Ted is one the outstanding CEO-preneurs who were recognized by Enterprise Asia for leadership and for promoting inclusive economic development.
“I feel personally fulfilled since we made Generika Drugstore a high-ly successful business enterprise, and at the same time we provide meaningful health benefits at huge savings to millions of Filipinos. The prestigious award is public recognition of what we have accomplished, and serves as a powerful motivation for us to continue what we do and to reach out to many more underserved communities.” Ferrer said.
Ferrer’s entrepreneurial journey started in the latter part of his life. Upon retiring at age 60 as a senior executive in one of the Ayala companies, he realized that millions of Filipinos had serious health concerns but continued to buy expensive branded medicines, which most could not really afford. Quality and affordable generic medicines were actually available but the general public had a very negative perception of them.
Generika Drugstore began as a start-up in a two-bedroom apartment in Parañaque City. Ferrer and his cofounder persevered in spite of little public acceptance of generics, and the multifold challenges facing a new disruptive business. Generika Drugstore grew as its efforts to educate communities, to shift to generic medicines as an alternative to its expensive branded counterparts, began to take hold. Other entrepreneurs were inspired by the initiative of Generika Drugstore, and they set up their own generic pharmacies. These combined endeavors resulted in a wide shift in public acceptance of generics. Even long-established pharma retail chains that offered branded medicines only before had to carry generic medicines as customers themselves asked for them.
Today, Generika Drugstore has grown to over 700 stores nationwide. The corporate thrust is to continue to offer quality, affordable, healthcare products and services, and to expand further in the coming years to provide similar significant health benefits to millions of other Filipinos.
Ferrer proved that entrepreneurship combined with passion to help others, can drive both the industry and communities to move forward. Generika Drugstore’s commitment to educate underserved Filipinos and provide them access to quality affordable health care has truly created shared value. Despite the growth that the company has experienced through the years, Generika Drugstore is committed to stay true to its promise to guide more Filipinos to better health.
