Balanced Disruption: Leading Change In A Family-Owned Pharma Company
By Stefan König
I like building businesses. In the same way that you build a house, you start with a blueprint and the foundations … then you build around those, move the family in, and keep renovating and expanding as needed. Every stage is important. The foundations of the business must be strong: what is the core idea, what are the company values and vision, and is there a compelling strategy? The family, or the team, is critical; without them, nothing will happen. And expansion is needed for growth, keeping the business competitive and delivering continued value to (in the case of a pharma company) investors, healthcare professionals, and patients.
When I took the CEO role at Merz Therapeutics in 2023, I was tasked with transforming the company and building it into a bigger business. Merz Therapeutics has operated as an individual business since 2020, but is part of the Merz Group, founded more than 115 years ago by Friedrich Merz, and is still family-owned. In this, there is a challenge and an opportunity. Family-owned businesses are common in the pharma industry, and often have a rich heritage, with deep-rooted values and strong cultures. But heritage and culture can clash with transformation: to accelerate progress, you need to do things differently, which can sometimes be uncomfortable. So what’s the best approach for leading change in a family-owned pharma company?
Creating A Roadmap That Builds On The Heritage
The culture at Merz Therapeutics is strong and has a guiding principle that has hardly changed in over a century. Friedrich Merz, a pharmacist and chemist, was highly focused on his customers and known for asking “What is needed?” which still resonates strongly in the company today.
To successfully drive change, it seems sensible to build on what already exists. Set a bold ambition, get people excited about achieving it, and create a clear roadmap showing how you’ll get there. At Merz Therapeutics, we have taken Friedrich’s question, “What is needed?” and used it to transform how we innovate in-house and through external partnerships and acquisitions.
Balanced Disruption
Managing the pace of any transformation can be tricky. I believe in "balanced disruption," an approach that combines big strategic moves and change with careful respect for company heritage, people, and culture. At Merz Therapeutics, I wanted to expand the neurology portfolio and grow the business in the U.S. With my team, we determined the best way to do this was through acquisition and in-house development. However, we needed to be sensitive to the company’s caution about risk and to changing the company too rapidly. Through balanced disruption, you can make the big cultural shifts if you bring people along with you.
These are my critical success factors for balanced disruption:
- Clear two-way communication. This is important at any time, but particularly during periods of significant change. When I started at Merz Therapeutics, I made it a priority to establish open communication channels with all stakeholders, particularly family shareholders, board members, and employees, so I could explain what was changing and why, and so I could hear their feedback, suggestions, and concerns. Regular updates and honest conversations about successes and challenges have helped build trust and confidence.
- Pace-setting. Moving too quickly can create resistance, while moving too slowly risks missing market opportunities. I've learned that success can come from implementing changes in phases. Work with your team to create early wins that build momentum for larger transformations.
- Cultural evolution. Identify the best elements of the company culture and build on those, recognizing that thoughtful evolution is positive and necessary for growth and modernization.
Putting It Into Action
The mission at Merz Therapeutics is to deliver better outcomes for more patients. The company develops and commercializes treatments that seek to improve function and quality of life for people living with neurological and movement disorders. People with neurological conditions can live with those conditions for a lifetime, and Merz Therapeutics is committed to supporting their needs.
We needed to expand the portfolio and scale the business to deliver on this commitment. Using the principles of balanced disruption, I worked with the team and the board to develop a plan to grow the company through in-house R&D and strategic partnerships and acquisitions. In 2024, we closed a $185M asset purchase agreement with Acorda Therapeutics, laying the groundwork for a Parkinson’s disease franchise and an anchor in multiple sclerosis therapy. We continue to invest heavily in R&D, developing multiple new indications for existing products and targeting external specialty neuroscience pipeline and commercial opportunities. Like many growing midsize pharma companies, we need to make our organization scalable. This means building critical capabilities across our functions, particularly in areas such as medical, market access, commercial, and launch excellence. At the same time, we can’t afford to work in silos, so we have created a framework for cross-functional collaboration built around global product teams.
Over the last two years, our financial performance has been strong, we have increased our geographical reach, and our pipeline of opportunities is growing. Most importantly, the Merz Therapeutics team — including board members, executives, and colleagues — are excited about the changes we are collectively delivering, and keen to do more.
Leading Change In A Family-Owned Pharma Company: What Is Needed?
To drive change in a family-owned pharma company, you must carefully balance progress and preservation. The pressure to innovate and grow is constant in our industry, and success will come from recognizing that heritage and modernization can be powerful allies. Transformation begins with an excellent strategy, but can only be delivered by the team, so bringing people along with you is imperative. Communicate well, set the right pace, and hold onto core values while pursuing exciting new possibilities.
I’m proud to lead a family-owned pharma company rooted in long-term thinking, strong values, and an enduring commitment to making a difference in patients' lives. With the right level of balanced disruption, transformation can energize an organization while continuing to benefit from the unique strengths that family ownership brings.
About The Author:
Stefan König, CEO of Merz Therapeutics, is a global healthcare leader passionate about understanding and meeting the needs of patients throughout their disease journey.