Körber Pharma

Körber Pharma provides integrated solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, operating as a dedicated division within the Körber Group. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, Körber Pharma focuses exclusively on pharmaceutical manufacturing, with customers including Roche, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, Merck, and GlaxoSmithKline.

The company employs 501-1,000 people globally dedicated to serving pharmaceutical manufacturers. Körber Pharma is part of the larger Körber Group, an industrial conglomerate founded in 1946 with 13,000 employees worldwide.

Körber Pharma's product portfolio includes PAS-X MES (Manufacturing Execution System), Track & Trace solutions, packaging systems, and inspection technologies. In March 2025, the company launched NextGen MES, featuring AI-powered capabilities and cloud-native Track & Trace.

Named customers include Roche, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, and Eurofarma (Brazil). The company serves pharmaceutical manufacturers across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

PAS-X MES holds a 4.4/5 rating on Gartner Peer Insights across 62 reviews. Körber Pharma's focus is 100% pharmaceutical, spanning FDA 21 CFR Part 11 and GMP compliance requirements.

The parent Körber Group has raised $1.11B in total funding. Körber Pharma AG revenue is estimated at $10M-$25M. Exact divisional financials are undisclosed within the private Körber Group.

Körber Pharma is pharma-specialized, serving the pharmaceutical, biotech, and cell & gene therapy value chain with named editions for pharma, biotech, cell & gene, CMOs/CDMOs, and mid-sized companies. Vendor reports 1,300+ Werum PAS-X MES installations at 340+ production sites worldwide, with PAS-X used by more than 50% of the top-30 pharma/biotech companies and 60%+ of top-20 biotechs. The PAS-X For Us (PFU) user group includes 60+ pharma companies and the broader PAS-X Community has 50+ companies.

Named Big Pharma / top-20 customers: Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer (HealthCare framework), Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson & Johnson (Centocor, Janssen Supply Chain, McNeil), Merck Serono, Novartis (and Sandoz), Novo Nordisk, Teva. Mid-cap, regional, generic and biotech: B. Braun, CSL, Genzyme, Heel, Lupin, Cipla, Biocon, Eurofarma (Itapevi, São Paulo - go-live 2025), GC Biopharma (South Korea, 2025), Taibang Biologic Group (China, 2024), GPO Thailand, Walvax Biotechnology. Cell & gene / CDMO: Lyell Immunopharma (PAS-X-as-a-Service on AWS), Minaris Regenerative Medicine, IDT Biologika, CELLforCURE by SEQENS (PAS-X MES 3.3 SaaS on AWS).

Regulatory expertise: explicit support for FDA 21 CFR Part 11 (Eurofarma), 21 CFR Part 211, EU GMP Annex 11 (GC Biopharma), EU GMP/cGMP, GAMP 5, and DSCSA/GS1/NMPA/EMA serialization via PAS-X Track & Trace. ICH Q7/Q9/Q10, MHRA, PMDA, ANVISA, Health Canada, and FSMA 204 are unstated. Customer-mix skew: Big Pharma top-20 plus Asia-Pacific large generics/biologics (China, Korea, India, Indonesia), with growing C&GT and CDMO presence. Medical-device coverage is not the focus of the software side.

Körber AG is privately held by the Körber-Stiftung (Körber Foundation), which became sole shareholder upon Kurt A. Körber's death in 1992 - foundation-owned, not PE-backed, not publicly traded, no stock ticker. Group results (not segmented to Pharma) per the official key-figures page: 2022 sales €2,531M; 2023 sales €2,898M (+14.5%); 2024 sales €2,766M (slight dip from Tissue divestment and Supply Chain reorganization with KKR); 2025 sales €3,116M (+12.6%) with EBITA €285M (9.1% margin). 2025 incoming orders €3,354M; equity €2,253M; equity ratio 40.7%; R&D spend €199M. 2025 employees: 13,252.

Pharma segment-specific revenue is not separately disclosed. Recent pharma-area M&A: 29 November 2024 agreement to acquire Wilhelm Bähren GmbH (labels/leaflets); April 2026 full ownership of Körber Pharma Packaging Materials LLC (formerly Rondo-Pak, buying out the remaining 30% stake); 2024 minority stake in Franz Ziel GmbH (isolators); 2020 acquired Exputec (now embedded in PAS-X Savvy). Transaction values not disclosed. The Körber Group sold its Tissue business to Valmet in 2023 and combined supply-chain software with KKR (Infios brand from March 2025).

Körber Pharma offers an integrated portfolio of solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturing, including PAS-X MES (Manufacturing Execution System), Track & Trace solutions, packaging systems, and inspection technologies.

The flagship product is PAS-X MES, a manufacturing execution system designed exclusively for pharmaceutical production. In March 2025, Körber launched the NextGen MES, featuring AI-powered capabilities, cloud-native Track & Trace, and microservices architecture.

PAS-X MES provides Electronic Batch Records (EBR), Master Batch Records, recipe management, material management, equipment integration, real-time production monitoring, quality management integration, and audit trails. The platform supports FDA 21 CFR Part 11, GMP, and EU Annex 11 compliance.

The product portfolio follows an integrated approach, with PAS-X MES serving as the manufacturing backbone that integrates with Körber's packaging, inspection, and Track & Trace systems, providing data flow from production through packaging and serialization.

Deployment options include cloud-native (NextGen MES), on-premise, and hybrid configurations. The NextGen MES emphasizes cloud capabilities while maintaining options for on-premise deployment where required by customer IT policies or regulatory considerations.

AI capabilities introduced in the March 2025 NextGen MES include production optimization, predictive analytics, and anomaly detection. Cloud-native architecture supports scalability. Mobile apps (iOS/Android) are unstated.

Körber Pharma maintains technology partnerships focused on equipment integration and enterprise systems connectivity. As a pharmaceutical equipment and software provider, the company integrates with automation equipment from multiple vendors, process control systems, and enterprise applications.

Cloud partnerships (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) are unstated. ERP integration capabilities support major enterprise systems; specific SAP, Oracle, or Salesforce partnerships are unstated.

Industry affiliations and consulting partner networks are unstated. The company delivers implementation and services primarily through its internal team rather than through a partner network. ISPE (International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering) membership is unstated. No FDA partnership or collaboration is stated.

The partnership strategy emphasizes direct technology integrations with equipment vendors and enterprise systems rather than consulting or implementation partner networks.

Körber Pharma provides support and professional services for pharmaceutical manufacturing customers globally. The company's support organization covers North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Professional services include implementation services (platform configuration, workflow setup, equipment integration, ERP integration), validation services for GxP environments (validation documentation, FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance support, GMP compliance guidance), training services for system users and administrators, and ongoing technical support and maintenance.

Körber Pharma's focus is 100% pharmaceutical. Customer references cite successful implementations and FDA inspections.

24/7 support, support SLAs, and dedicated support phone numbers are unstated. Support contact information and service level agreements are typically provided to customers during sales and implementation processes.

Training programs cover system operation, configuration, and validation procedures. Whether Körber offers user certification programs or a formal learning management system is unstated.

User community forums, annual user conferences, and customer events are unstated.

Körber Pharma is part of the Körber Group, an industrial conglomerate founded in 1946. The Group has raised $1.11B in total funding and employs 13,000 people globally.

PAS-X MES holds a 4.4/5 rating on Gartner Peer Insights across 62 reviews.

Körber Pharma has focused exclusively on pharmaceutical manufacturing since 2004 (21+ years). In March 2025, the company launched NextGen MES with AI capabilities.

Named customers include Roche, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, Merck, and GlaxoSmithKline.

ISO 9001, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 certifications are unstated. Gartner Magic Quadrant and Forrester Wave recognition are unstated.

Körber Pharma's corporate website (www.koerber-pharma.com) features product information, customer references, and company news.

Press release frequency is moderate, with major announcements for product launches and significant customer wins.

The company maintains a LinkedIn presence (linkedin.com/company/koerber-pharma); engagement metrics are unstated. Other social media channels are unstated.

Content marketing includes customer case studies and product information. Product demos are available through the website. Free trial availability is unstated. Resource center content (whitepapers, webinars, technical documentation) is available.

The site is available in multiple languages, serving the global customer base.

The website and marketing materials emphasize technical capabilities and pharma-specific expertise over thought-leadership content.