EL PATO Medien GmbH

What EL PATO Medien GmbH does

EL PATO Medien GmbH is a Berlin-based, privately held German healthcare communication company founded around 2005–2009 and operating for more than 15 years with over 90 employees. It serves the German-speaking healthcare market through three integrated product pillars: digital media, community marketing, and events, targeting pharmacy professionals (pharmacists and PTAs), doctors and medical assistants, and pharma companies seeking access to those professional audiences. The portfolio includes APOTHEKE ADHOC, a flagship digital industry news service for the pharmacy sector attracting approximately 60 million visits per year; GESUNDHEIT ADHOC, a PR portal for the pharmaceutical industry; aposcope, an online market research platform collecting data from pharmacists, PTAs and PKAs; PTA IN LOVE, a community brand with more than 28,000 verified PTA members; ACHILLES RUNNING, a consumer-facing online magazine for performance runners; and the NUR MAL SO ZUM WISSEN podcast. Event products include APOTHEKENTOUR (a pharmacy team trade show), PRAXISTOUR (a new format for doctors and medical assistants), and VISION.A (an annual industry conference), with a separate Austrian site (elpatomedien.at) supporting DACH expansion.

The underlying technology is a digital media and community platform with proprietary market research data collection infrastructure (aposcope) and, most recently, a data-driven audience targeting product (COR by ELPATO) that productizes the ELPATO ecosystem. The company is essentially a vertical healthcare media and audience business: it aggregates engaged healthcare professional audiences via owned content, community and event properties, then monetizes those audiences through digital advertising, event sponsorship and ticketing, and commissioned market research for pharma clients. ELPATO also operates a separate Austrian distribution presence and runs owned organic social channels across LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and XING. No public pricing is disclosed, ownership appears to be founder- or independently-held with no identified parent or external institutional investor, and no funding rounds, acquisitions, patents, or public regulatory actions are documented in the source material.

Name

EL PATO Medien GmbH

Legal name

ELPATO Medien GmbH

Website

https://el-pato.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

EL PATO Medien GmbH is a Berlin-based, privately held healthcare communication company that operates digital media (APOTHEKE ADHOC, GESUNDHEIT ADHOC), professional communities (PTA IN LOVE), market research (aposcope), and events (APOTHEKENTOUR, PRAXISTOUR, VISION.A) to connect pharma advertisers with pharmacy and medical professionals across Germany and Austria.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Media & Communications

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Public Relations Agencies (541820), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Other Services Related to Advertising (541890)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare/Pharma Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Healthcare & Life Sciences PR (MPAAADAD), Healthcare & Life Sciences PR (BPAFADAJ)

Keywords

• Healthcare media
• Pharmaceutical communications
• Pharmacy media
• Healthcare events
• Medical market research

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Digital Advertising & Sponsorships: Revenue from pharma and healthcare brands advertising across digital media properties including APOTHEKE ADHOC and GESUNDHEIT ADHOC
2. Event Revenue: Revenue from ticket sales and sponsorships for events including APOTHEKENTOUR, PRAXISTOUR, and VISION.A conferences
3. Market Research Services: aposcope platform generates revenue through commissioned market research studies for pharma companies and healthcare brands

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

EL PATO Medien GmbH is a Berlin-based healthcare communication company that operates digital media properties (including APOTHEKE ADHOC and GESUNDHEIT ADHOC), community marketing platforms (such as PTA IN LOVE and COR by ELPATO), trade events (APOTHEKENTOUR, PRAXISTOUR, VISION.A), and an online market research service (aposcope). It connects healthcare professionals (pharmacists, PTAs, doctors) with pharmaceutical industry advertisers, sponsors, and research clients across Germany and Austria through an integrated media, community, and events ecosystem.

Product overview

EL PATO Medien GmbH is a healthcare-focused media and communications company offering a multi-product portfolio organized around three pillars: digital media, community marketing, and events. The core digital media offerings include APOTHEKE ADHOC (a digital industry news service with 60 million annual visits), GESUNDHEIT ADHOC (a PR portal for pharma), and aposcope (online market research). Community marketing products include COR by ELPATO (data-driven audience targeting), PTA IN LOVE (a community brand for pharmacy assistants with 28,000+ verified members), ACHILLES RUNNING (an online magazine for runners), and NUR MAL SO ZUM WISSEN (a podcast). Event offerings include APOTHEKENTOUR (trade show for pharmacy teams), PRAXISTOUR (event for doctors and medical assistants), and VISION.A (annual industry conference). The ELPATO ecosystem connects these products to enable cross-media exchange within the healthcare community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• APOTHEKE ADHOC: Digital industry news service with approximately 60 million visits per year serving the pharmacy sector.
• COR by ELPATO
• PTA IN LOVE
• APOTHEKENTOUR
• PRAXISTOUR
• aposcope
• GESUNDHEIT ADHOC
• ACHILLES RUNNING
• VISION.A
• NUR MAL SO ZUM WISSEN

Products and services

• APOTHEKE ADHOC Digital industry news service for the pharmacy sector with approximately 60 million visits per year; serves as the flagship B2B advertising surface for reaching pharmacists.
• GESUNDHEIT ADHOC PR portal for the pharmaceutical industry designed to engage both pharmaceutical clients and end users through dedicated PR distribution.
• COR by ELPATO Data-driven communication solutions enabling precise audience targeting for pharma and healthcare clients, powered by the ELPATO ecosystem of media, community and event data.
• PTA IN LOVE Love-brand community platform targeting the PTA (pharmaceutical technician assistant) audience with more than 28,000 verified members and growing; used to activate pharmacy technicians for pharma clients.
• APOTHEKENTOUR Trade-show-style event for pharmacy teams combining knowledge transfer, live entertainment, and wellness experiences; sold via sponsorships and ticket revenue to pharma and pharmacy clients.
• PRAXISTOUR Event format exclusively for doctors and medical assistants (MFA) offering professional exchange, innovation showcases, and appreciation, with pharma sponsorship opportunities.
• VISION.A Annual conference for creative minds and industry insiders discussing innovations for pharmacy and pharma; revenue from ticket sales and sponsorships.
• aposcope Online market research offering that collects and analyzes data from pharmacists, PTAs and PKAs, sold as commissioned research projects to pharma and healthcare clients.
• ACHILLES RUNNING High-reach online magazine with knowledge and news for performance-oriented runners, used as an advertising surface for relevant non-healthcare brands.
• NUR MAL SO ZUM WISSEN Healthcare industry podcast by Tom Bellartz and Patrick Hollstein delivering current, concrete and opinionated content; available as a branded-content surface for sponsors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60 million annual visits to digital media properties
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• IQVIA: Global healthcare data, analytics and market research provider serving pharma with HCP panels and insights. Directly comparable to ELPATO's aposcope and COR offerings but operating globally and at much larger scale.
• Medscape (WebMD Professional): Global HCP news, education and community platform owned by WebMD. Comparable in operating HCP-focused digital media plus community features for pharma marketing, though serving a global rather than DACH audience.
• Thieme: German medical and healthcare publisher with journals, reference works and professional media for clinicians and pharmacists. Comparable as a long-established German healthcare publisher, though broader in clinical and academic content than ELPATO.
• Springer Medizin: German arm of Springer Nature's professional healthcare publishing business, spanning medical journals, news and continuing education for physicians. Overlaps with ELPATO's healthcare professional audience and pharma advertising model but at significantly greater scale and breadth.

Emerging players

• Sermo: Online physician community used by pharma for market research and HCP engagement. Comparable to ELPATO's community-plus-research model but focused on doctors rather than pharmacy professionals, and operating globally rather than DACH-only.
• M3 (M3 Global Research): Physician community and HCP market research provider serving pharma with panel-based insights. Comparable to ELPATO's aposcope market research and PTA IN LOVE community in monetizing verified clinician audiences for pharma research and communication.

Direct peers

• Wort & Bild Verlag: Publisher of Apotheken Umschau, Germany's largest consumer pharmacy health title. Comparable as a German pharmacy-focused media company leveraging the pharmacy channel for content, audience and pharma advertising revenue.
• DocCheck: Cologne-based HCP community and media platform for healthcare professionals in German-speaking markets. Closely comparable to ELPATO in operating a logged-in professional community monetized via advertising, market research and content services.
• Deutscher Apotheker Verlag: German pharmacy-sector publisher producing flagship pharmacy trade media and services. Directly comparable to ELPATO's APOTHEKE ADHOC and pharmacy community offerings as the incumbent German pharmacy media business.

Others

• HealthCare Marketing (Deutscher Apotheker Verlag / Ulmer): B2B title and event series covering pharma marketing and pharmacy communication in German-speaking markets. Adjacent to ELPATO's healthcare communications focus and overlapping with VISION.A's audience of pharma marketing decision-makers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/elpatoberlin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elpato
• Instagraminstagram.com/elpato.medien

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EL PATO Medien GmbH