Assinde

What Assinde does

Assinde S.r.l. is an Italian pharmaceutical returns management consortium founded in 1980 and headquartered in Rome, structured as an S.r.l. jointly governed by the country's principal pharmaceutical industry associations — Farmindustria, Federfarma, Assofarm, ADF, Federfarma Servizi, and Egualia. The company operates what it describes as the only integrated system in Europe for the collection, certification, storage, indemnification, and disposal of expired or unsold medicines, serving four customer segments: territorial pharmacies (both private Federfarma and public Assofarm members), wholesale distribution companies (ADF and Federfarma Servizi), pharmaceutical manufacturers (Farmindustria and Egualia), and 'Other Operators' such as parapharmacies and veterinary channels.

The operational backbone is a digital platform — portale.assinde.it — supported by the ResoFacile service for pharmacy waste management and the Sensitive Data Disposal Service (SDS) for certified document destruction. The portal enables pharmacies and distributors to file compensation claims, track submitted packages, view compensation amounts, and download accounting documents; pharmaceutical manufacturers receive tailored services covering AIFA-measure segregation, market withdrawal management, ISF retrieval, and clinical-trial-center disposal. The company is UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 and UNI ISO 37001:2016 certified, and in June 2025 signed an exclusive Program Agreement with Italy's Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) under the RENTRI Decree.

The business model combines a free core service for association-affiliated entities (accessed through bi-annual tranches) with fee-generating peripheral services — per-weight disposal for non-indemnifiable products, custom-quoted disposal for SOP/OTC/cosmetics/veterinary products and other waste streams (WEEE, neon, toners, paper, sensitive documents), and membership fees for non-affiliated entities. Customer acquisition is largely association-mediated, and the company does not employ traditional paid marketing. There are no disclosed funding rounds, parent entities, or external investors; ownership rests with the founding industry associations.

Name

Assinde

Legal name

Assinde S.r.l.

Website

https://assinde.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Assinde S.r.l. is an Italian consortium, founded in 1980 and governed by the country's major pharmaceutical industry associations, that manages the integrated collection, certification, indemnification, and disposal of expired or unsold medicines for pharmacies, distributors, and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pharmaceutical Waste Management

NAICS

Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292)

SIC

Wholesale-Drugs, Proprietaries & Druggists' Sundries (5122)

akta.pro primary industry

Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) & Pharmacy Network Administration (HLAFALAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pharmacy Benefit/Channel Services (PSAO, 340B Admin, Chargebacks/Rebates Ops) (CRAOAHAK), Claims Processing, Adjudication & Payment Integrity (HLAEAKAC)

Keywords

• Pharmaceutical waste management
• Pharmaceutical returns processing
• Expired medicine disposal
• Drug indemnification services
• Pharmacy waste compliance

Headquarters

HQ city

Roma

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership/Adhesion Fees: Free service for pharmacies, distribution companies, and pharmaceutical companies that are members of recognized industry associations, accessing services through bi-annual tranches. For non-member entities, a membership fee applies covering two consecutive bi-annual tranches.
2. Per-Weight Disposal Service: For pharmacies with non-compensable products for human or veterinary use requiring disposal, a dedicated direct disposal service is offered with quotation based on weight. Contact via email with product details.
3. Other Waste Disposal Services: Custom quotes for retrieval and disposal of other waste types: non-hazardous WEEE, neon lights, toners, paper and cardboard, sensitive documents, and other waste streams for pharmacies, distribution companies, and other operators.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Assinde manages the complete cycle of expired and unsold pharmaceutical returns in Italy, providing collection, certification, storage, compensation (indennizzo), and disposal services for pharmacies, pharmaceutical distribution companies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The company operates a digital portal (portale.assinde.it) that enables participants to file compensation claims, track returned packages, and download accounting documents, and it supplements its core returns service with weight-based disposal and certified sensitive data destruction offerings.

Product overview

Assinde operates as a pharmaceutical returns management system offering a unified platform of services for the Italian pharmaceutical supply chain. The core offering includes ResoFacile (digital platform for pharmacies), alongside dedicated services for pharmaceutical companies, distributor companies, and other operators. The system facilitates the collection, certification, indemnification processing, and disposal of expired or unsold medicines. Additional services include the Smaltimento Dati Sensibili (SDS) for certified data destruction and weight-based disposal services. The platform is accessible through reserved customer portals and provides digitization of return management processes with compliance to environmental, health, and fiscal regulations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ResoFacile Digital service platform enabling Italian pharmacies to manage disposal of expired or unsold medicines and other pharmaceutical waste streams (including parapharmaceuticals, cosmetics, medical devices, potentially infectious waste, galenic laboratory waste, WEEE, toners, and narcotics subject to ASL verification) through online indemnification request submission and documentation management.
• Smaltimento Dati Sensibili (SDS) Certified destruction service for documents containing sensitive personal data, compliant with European data protection regulations, with a destruction certificate issued upon completion. Aimed at pharmacies, distribution companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and other operators needing compliant disposal of sensitive paperwork.
• Smaltimento a Peso (Weight-Based Disposal) Direct disposal service for pharmacies holding non-indemnifiable pharmaceutical products for human or veterinary use, with pricing quoted based on the estimated weight of the materials to be disposed.
• Services for Distributor Companies Service package for wholesale pharmaceutical distribution companies providing online indemnification request management, participation in extraordinary processing sessions, certification and disposal of non-indemnifiable products, and custom logistics scheduling outside standard bi-annual cycles.
• Services for Pharmaceutical Companies Service package for pharmaceutical manufacturers covering the full cycle of pharmaceutical returns, including separation and segregation of returns affected by AIFA measures, market withdrawal management, retrieval and disposal from pharmaceutical representatives (ISF) and clinical trial centers, and disposal of finished product and potentially infectious waste.
• Services for Other Operators Collection, certification, and disposal service for parapharmacies and other operators handling non-indemnifiable SOP, OTC, cosmetic, veterinary medicines, supplements, and medical devices. Additional quote-based offerings cover non-hazardous WEEE, neon lights, toners, paper and cardboard, and sensitive documents.

Quantifiable outcome

• Certified pharmaceutical waste disposal compliant with UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 and UNI ISO 37001:2016 standards

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica (MASE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOn June 13, 2025, Assinde signed a new Program Agreement with MASE (Ministry of Environment and Energy Security). This is the only agreement for the pharmaceutical supply chain created under the RENTRI decree, providing concrete simplifications for regulatory compliance requirements. The agreement enables participating pharmacies to benefit from regulatory and administrative simplifications.
• Farmindustria (Associazione delle Imprese Farmaceutiche)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the founding industry associations representing pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Italy. Farmindustria co-founded Assinde as the association representing pharmaceutical companies in the returns management system, mandating Assinde to manage collection, certification, and disposal of their returns.
• Federfarma (Federazione Nazionale dei Titolari di Farmacia Italiana)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational federation of Italian pharmacy owners, co-founder of Assinde representing private pharmacies. Federation members receive free access to Assinde's pharmaceutical returns management services through the association affiliation.
• Assofarm (Cooperazione e Federazione delle Farmacie Pubbliche Italiane)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation and federation of Italian public pharmacies, co-founder of Assinde representing public/municipal pharmacies. Association members benefit from free participation in the pharmaceutical returns management system.
• ADF (Associazione Distributori Farmaceutici)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation of pharmaceutical distribution companies, co-founder of Assinde. ADF members participate in Assinde's returns management system, filing online compensation claims and accessing disposal services.
• Federfarma ServizicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederfarma Servizi, association representing pharmaceutical distribution services, co-founder of Assinde alongside ADF, representing distribution companies in the returns management ecosystem.
• Egualia (ex Assogenerici)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEgualia (formerly Assogenerici), the association of generic and biosimilar medicines manufacturers, co-signatory of the Inter-Associative Agreement for compensation and disposal of ethical drug returns, in partnership with pharmacy and distribution associations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Inmar Inc. Inmar operates the largest pharmaceutical reverse-logistics and returns-processing network in the United States, handling expired and unsold drug returns from manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies. It is the closest functional analog to Assinde in any geography, with the same core workflow (collection → certification → manufacturer credit/refund → compliant disposal).

Broad incumbents

• Stericycle: Stericycle is one of the largest regulated medical and pharmaceutical waste management companies globally, serving hospitals, pharmacies, and manufacturers. While it operates a much broader portfolio (sharps, hazardous waste, document destruction), its pharma waste and returns-adjacent services overlap with Assinde's certified-disposal workflow.
• Veolia Environmental Services: Veolia is a global environmental services group with dedicated pharmaceutical and healthcare waste management lines, including collection, treatment, and disposal of expired medicines. It is comparable as a large-scale, multi-jurisdiction incumbent handling pharmaceutical waste streams analogous to Assinde's certified-disposal function.
• Suez (Suez Healthcare & Waste): Suez operates environmental services including regulated healthcare and pharmaceutical waste collection and treatment across Europe. Comparable to Assinde as a multinational environmental services incumbent addressing pharmaceutical waste disposal, though without Assinde's returns-management and compensation-administration layer.
• Clean Harbors: Clean Harbors is a North American leader in hazardous and regulated waste management, including pharmaceutical waste. It is comparable as a large-scale certified waste operator; however, its portfolio is broader than Assinde's and it does not operate a pharmaceutical-returns compensation system.

Emerging players

• Daniels Health: Daniels Health specializes in medical and pharmaceutical waste management with a strong focus on sharps and pharmaceutical containment, primarily serving healthcare facilities in the US, UK, and Australia. Comparable to Assinde's certified pharmaceutical waste handling, but without the Italy-specific returns-compensation workflow.

Regional players

• Herambiente (Hera Group): Herambiente is the environmental services arm of Hera Group, one of Italy's largest multi-utility companies, providing waste collection, treatment, and disposal across Italian regions. It is comparable as an Italy-headquartered operator in the regulated waste space, but its scope is broader (municipal, industrial, hazardous) and does not include Assinde's pharmaceutical-returns compensation system.
• AMIU Genova: AMIU is an Italian municipal waste management company operating in Liguria. Comparable to Assinde only loosely as another Italy-based regulated waste operator; its focus is urban waste collection rather than pharmaceutical-returns management.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

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 Assinde