UNILAB

1. Brief background of the company

Unilab is the biggest pharmaceutical organization in the Philippines, with a
market share of some 20 percent which it has consistently maintained for
more than three decades. It is a Filipino owned organization which gives pride
to all of the Filipinos around the world. They have a practice, Bayanihan,
which shows the culture and ethics of a true Filipino. Its portfolio includes
some of the biggest prescription and consumer healthcare brands in the
country.
Established in 1945, Unilab is still standing strong up to now. The organization
has top of the line and affordable medicines which are known not only in our
country but around the world. Unilab today is the realization of the grand
vision of its founders to be a firmly established industry leader distinguished
by its corporate culture that places people in the center of everything. It is a
culture whose work ethic revolves around family and community, cooperation
and sharing.
The Unilab story began in post-war Manila when two friends Jose Y. Campos
and Mariano K. Tan opened a small corner-street drugstore. United Drug, the
name they gave it, became known as the only drugstore that didn't turn away
anyone empty handed. Going above and beyond the call of duty to serve its
customers became its hallmark and propelled Unilab to become the top
pharmaceutical organization in the Philippines.
Unilab was the first among local companies to go into industrial-scale
pharmaceutical manufacturing. By 1959 it had a robust nationwide distribution
and sales network. The organization has also consistently maintained a 20percent market share, with many of its brands becoming the most trusted
household names and leading in their therapeutic categories. Today, Unilab
has affiliates in 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
From research to quality compliance, marketing to distribution, from products
to peopleeverything that Unilab invests in is to ensure each customers wellbeing throughout his health journey. Husay at malasakit is an expression of
what Unilab stands for, of who it is at its very core. The spirit of genuine
concern to make the lives of people better by providing quality products and
services drives the Unilab vision to be the best healthcare provider in Asia.
Therapeutic Categories

Unilab develops and markets a wide range of ethical and consumer products
in the following therapeutic segments:

Anti-Allergy

Endometabolics

Anti-Asthma-COPD

Eye-Ear

Anti-Fibrinolytics

Gastrointestinal

Anti-Infectives

Genito-Urinary-Nephro

Anti-TB

Hospital Solutions

Cardiovascular

Medical Device

Central Nervous System

OB-Gyne

Cosmetics

Oncology

Cough-Cold

Oral Care

Dermatologicals

Somatics

Dietetics

Vitamins

2. Recent developments of the company

From a small corner drugstore, Unilab has grown to become the leading
pharmaceutical and healthcare company in the country. As Unilab celebrated
their 70th anniversary in the industry, Unilab has shown growth, proving to be
one of the most prominent companies in the industry.
Last February of 2015, NanoSpeed has partnered with Unilab to be their
exclusive distributor of 25-OH Vitamin D deficiency test kit. Test4D is a
patented and unique point-of-care test that provides information on Vitamin D
deficiency within 10 minutes. The test requires a single drop of blood from the
patient and costs 90% less when compared to other standard and
conventional tests.
Also Unilab has expressed interest in expanding in Africa and the Middle East,
citing these regions are widely undeserved pharmaceutical markets. Unilab
had already contacted the Nigerian Trade and Investment Delegation, as they
see big opportunities in the richest country in the poorest continent, Africa.
They predict that they could enter Nigerias market for over-the-counter

medicines, with their generics brand RiteMed. Unilabs European Certification

of Good Manufacturing Practice, was the reason how Unilab was able create
a way to expand their company to Africa and the Middle East, which are both
using European standards. However the plant is still in the drawing board,
Unilab now exports now to Africa through their consolidators which are mostly
personal and beauty care.
3. Who are the leaders (CEO, President, CFO etc.) of the companies and
their background
Unilab is a family owned business, since the early 1940s by Jose Campos
and his friend Mariano Tan, and is now passed down to Campos daughter,
Jocelyn Campos Hess and grandson, Clinton Campos Hess.
Jocelyn Campos Hess is the former President and CEO of Unilab. She has a
degree in Physics and Mathematics from Manhattanville College, and she has
also finished her MBA courses in the Boston College at Massachusetts, USA.
Now, she is the Chairman of the Board of Unilab Inc. and the President
Commissioner of Darya-Varia, Unilabs counterpart in Indonesia.
Clinton Campos Hess is the grandson of Jose Campos and the son of Jocelyn
Campos Hess. He has a Bachelors degree of Science in Economics from the
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in 1993 with dual Majors in
Multinational Management and Finance. He is also a member of Makati
Business Club and the Young Presidents' Organization Philippines. Currently,
he is the President and CEO of Unilab and the Unilab Groups International
Operations, and he is still the Vice Chairman of the Board since 2005.

4. What is the tone from the tone from the top regarding good corporate
governance
Unilab promotes good corporate governance which can be seen from the top
management and cascaded down to the rank and file employees. The
company has implemented strict policies and procedures, and set appropriate
standards to assure high quality throughout daily activities in the organization
from hiring employees to production up to production and distribution.
Customers need for the best medicine can surely be provided by Unilab.
The company is managed in a very Filipino way through their practice of
Bayanihan. Unilab does not only focus on improving and expanding
business, but they also want to uplift the lives of people. Unilab has also been
recognized as one of the companies who gives opportunities to persons with
disabilities (PWDs) and not only do they hire but they also encourage other
companies to follow suit.

Ethics is given utmost importance in Unilab. The company exercises fairness

honesty when transacting with customers. They follow the rules and
regulations pertinent to the industry they are in.
5. Stewardship how do you think the companies are being managed by
the board?
The leaders at Unilab use a combination of task-oriented and people oriented
style of leadership. Task oriented leadership is used as employees are closely
monitored by their supervisors to make sure that they are doing their jobs
well. Managers use the S.T.A.R (Situations, Task, Action, Results) criteria to
evaluate employee performance which is conducted at least twice a year.
Quality checks are also implemented in production to assure that products
made are produced according to standards.
More importantly, leaders also use the people-oriented leadership. The
company does not only focus on meeting organizational goals, but they also
aim to uplift the lives of their employees. The company keeps their employees
motivated because they believe that motivated employees perform better in
the long run compared to unmotivated ones. They encourage team work and
collaboration as tasks are better accomplished when people work on it
together. They also make it a point employees continuously improve their
capabilities and reach their full potential.
The company also has an Employee Council which deals with conflicts and
problems faced by the employees, and they use the Blue Book containing
policies and procedures as a guide.
6. What are the companies mission and vision? Are the companies
accomplishing them?
Vision
We shall be the best provider of healthcare in Asia. We will do this by:
converting opportunities into sustainable business growth
nurturing a culture of innovation
delivering better value to our partners and consumers
Mission
We provide quality and affordable healthcare products and services that
promote and enrich life for all communities that we serve by working together
as one united family.
We believe that Unilab very much accomplish their mission and vision.

Throughout the years, you can see how the company is very consistent in
fulfilling their organizational goal of producing high quality medicine at
affordable prices. Their products are used by many households and
prescribed by the doctors nationwide. They continuously conduct research
and development project to keep improve and innovate their products, and
better adapt to the ever changing market demands. Also, since 2012, Unilab
has launched Link-Up an open door program where people can share their
ideas to serve the health, wellness and personal care needs of our country
thus, creating more opportunities in the health care sector. Now, Unilab
positions itself as one of the top pharmaceutical companies not only in the
Philippines, but worldwide.
7. Tax Compliance are the companies tax compliant?
Yes, we believe that Unilab is tax compliant. In fact, they are listed as the 48 th
highest non-individual taxpayer as of March 6, 2015.
8. Employee relation how does the company treat its employees?
Unilab treats their employees as very essential assets to the organization.
Without a good combination of people in the workforce, operations will not run
smoothly, and business will never be a success. We believe that the company
takes good care of their employees and they are motivated.
First, the employees receive good salary, compensation and employee
benefits. The company makes sure that information is well received and
understood by the employees. Employee performance is periodically
assessed and evaluated. Unilab maintains work life balance where they even
promote family day activities for the employees. Excellent performances of
employees are recognized through programs such as The Outstanding
Performers (TOPs) of the Year.
9. What are the current issues you think the companies are dealing?
With the increase in the number of hospitals and health centers in the country,
the government is creating more ways for Filipinos to have access to better
healthcare services and better socio-civic programs, like the Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program, that gives conditional cash transfer to selected
families that are in extreme poverty. That would result to an increase in
demand for medicine in the Philippines, which would surely affect the industry.
Another issue would be R.A. 9502 or the Universally Accessible Cheaper and
Quality Medicines Act of 2008, which intends to enhance access to generic
medicines that are cheaper but are of quality. This law allows the parallel

importation of patented medicines from other countries where they are more
affordable. The president also imposed price ceiling on various drugs that
were recommended by the Department of Health. We consider this as an
issue as consumers are given more options, that are cheaper that their line.
Not only does Unilab battle it out with cheap generic medicines, Unilab also
has dozens of competitors as the industry continues to grow and the
emergence of more players in the field. Substitutes in the market which
encourage consumers to switch to the different alternatives offered. The
company must surely continue their commitment to excellence and quality, as
they rely deeply on their brand as a company that ensures the highest
reliability and quality of medicine in the country.
10. What are the future issues you think the companies should be preparing
for?
New innovations in the production of pills, syrup, capsules and others types of
medicines, such as new equipment and new procedures and even discovery
of new materials may affect Unilab and the industry. These new innovations
would require high costs but it would result to an increase in quality and would
eventually result to cost savings in the long run.
Laws and regulations can affect the practices in the pharmaceutical industry.
An example of this could be a regulation for a decrease in medicine prices
and amendments in medicine standards, can make pharmaceutical
companies to change current production methods to maintain their gross profit
ratio and comply to with the new standards.
Another issue we foresee Unilab would face is inflation. A general increase in
the prices of general commodities and the decrease of the purchasing power
of the peso, could affect the business sector including the pharmaceutical
industry. People would tend to prioritize their physiological needs, such as
food, water, and shelter for the family first before buying medicine, which
would opt consumers to buy a cheaper alternative.
Overall, we could say the biggest issue Unilab would face in the future would
be change. How fast they could adapt to change. How would they handle
change. How could Unilab grow with changes that could affect them
negatively.
11. Reasons for selecting the company
We considered Unilab as one of the three companies since they are one of
the prominent players in the pharmaceutical industry in the country. They are
also one of the most recognized pharmaceutical company here and in the
Southeast Asia. They also exhibit good corporate culture and a strong and
standing foundation as a family owned business. Their corporate social

governance is also very prominent in the country as they largely contribute to

society. We also considered how Unilab gives opportunities to the PWD
community and as they encourage other companies to do so. We also
commend their dedication to quality and customer satisfaction.