Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker Verlag

What Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker Verlag does

Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker Verlag is a privately held, family-owned specialist publishing group headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, operating 11 independent companies across six locations in Germany and Austria with approximately 250 employees. Founded over 100 years ago, the group is among the top 25 largest specialist publishers in Germany and produces 80+ professional journals (including flagship Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung (DAZ), PTAheute, AWA, AMT, and KPH), approximately 10,500 books and eBooks through its DAV and WVG/WVG-MWV imprints, and digital products including the BiblioScout eLibrary, JobPharm.de job portal, and apotheken.de SaaS suite for pharmacies. The portfolio also spans e-learning via DAV Akademie (with BAK-accredited CME programs, the Medikationsanalyse curriculum, KI-Kompetenz courses, ascendio PTA, and the annual INTERPHARM congress, the largest pharmaceutical specialist congress in the German-speaking world).

The company serves two distinct customer bases: (1) individual pharmacy professionals — licensed pharmacists, pharmacy owners, hospital pharmacists, and pharmaceutical-technical assistants (PTA) — who subscribe to print and digital journals and pay for accredited continuing education, and (2) pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare advertisers who purchase crossmedia advertising packages across the journal portfolio, websites, newsletters, and events. Revenue is generated through subscription fees (DAZ priced above €400/year with >10,000 paid subscribers), print and digital advertising, INTERPHARM and other event ticket/exhibitor revenue, paid e-learning courses, JobPharm.de listings, and B2B SaaS subscriptions for pharmacy websites and the pDL Manager tool. The underlying technology stack includes multi-platform publishing (print, web, mobile apps), an LMS (akademie.dav-medien.de) delivered via GoToWebinar, the eLibrary BiblioScout, and pharmacy SaaS infrastructure.

Recent strategic activity centers on portfolio consolidation and digital expansion: the July 2023 acquisition of MWV Berlin extended the group into medical publishing, the May 2025 acquisition of DAS PTA MAGAZIN deepened PTA-journal coverage, and 2025 saw launches of the KI-Kompetenz AI-literacy course and ascendio PTA training platform. A new co-managing-director structure was installed in March 2024, and the Stuttgart and Gerlingen offices were consolidated into a single headquarters in June 2024. Distribution reach is validated by LA-PHARM 2024: DAZ reaches 75.3% of German pharmacy managers crossmedially and PTAheute reaches 54.3% of all PTA per issue, both #1 rankings in their segments.

Name

Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker Verlag

Legal name

Deutscher Apotheker Verlag Dr. Roland Schmiedel GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://dav-medien.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1900

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Publishing (Pharmacy & Healthcare Media)

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Periodical Publishers (51312), Software Publishers (5132), All Other Publishers (513199)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical & Clinical Reference (Physicians, Nursing, Allied Health) (EDAGAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Medical, Clinical & Biomedical Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAB), Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK), Health Sciences & Nursing (EDAGABAF), Healthcare & Medical Licensure Exam Prep (USMLE/COMLEX, NCLEX, Dentistry, Pharmacy, PA) (EDANAIAA)

Keywords

• Specialist pharmacy publishing
• Pharmaceutical professional media
• Pharmacy e-learning platforms
• Pharmaceutical trade journals
• Pharmacy digital tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Stuttgart

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscriptions (Print & Digital): Recurring subscription revenue from Fachzeitschriften (specialized journals) and Fachliteratur (professional books/eBooks). The DAZ has over 10,000 IVW-certified paid subscriptions with an annual subscription price exceeding €400. Subscriptions represent the primary revenue pillar and customer lock-in mechanism.
2. Print & Digital Advertising: Advertising revenue from pharmaceutical companies, healthcare brands, and medical product manufacturers placing display ads, advertorials, and sponsored content across the company's 80+ specialized journals, websites, and newsletters. Crossmedia packages combine print and digital placements.
3. Events & Conferences: Revenue from ticket sales, exhibitor sponsorships, and advertising at flagship events including INTERPHARM (largest pharmaceutical congress in German-speaking world, held annually), DAV-Rezeptursommer, MMP-Webinare, and numerous other seminars and training events.
4. E-Learning & Academy Courses: Revenue from paid online courses, webinars, and certifications offered through the DAV Akademie platform, including accredited training programs for pharmacy professionals (e.g., Medikationsanalyse certification, pDL training).
5. Job Portal Advertising: Revenue from JobPharm.de online job portal where pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies publish job listings as SEO-optimized HTML advertisements, cross-promoted through the company's magazine online presences.
6. Software & Digital Tools: Revenue from digital tools and software including apotheken.de platform services (websites, apps, pDL Manager) and the Dr. Lennartz Laborprogramm sold to pharmacies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker Verlag produces and distributes specialized journals (80+ titles including Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung, PTAheute), professional books and eBooks (~10,500 titles), accredited continuing-education courses via the DAV Akademie e-learning platform, and pharmaceutical software tools (apotheken.de, Dr. Lennartz Laborprogramm, pDL Manager). The group also operates the INTERPHARM congress — the largest pharmaceutical professional congress in the German-speaking world — and sells crossmedia advertising packages to pharmaceutical companies targeting pharmacy professionals.

Product overview

Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker Verlag is a portfolio of 11 independent companies and one of Germany's 25 largest specialist publishing houses, operating a multi-brand product architecture centered on scientific and professional publishing for pharmacy, medicine, natural sciences, food chemistry, and humanities. Its core publishing products include the Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung (DAZ) and PTAheute journals, supported by more than 80 additional specialist journals (AWA, A&R, AMT, PPT, KPH, MMP, MPJ, Pflege.Fokus, PKAaktiv!, HCM, EfSM, Elektronenmikroskopie, THEMA, UniDAZ, PTAheute Schule, and others), a ~10,500-title book and eBook catalog via Deutscher Apotheker Verlag and Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft Stuttgart (WVG, including MWV), and the digital eLibrary BiblioScout. The portfolio extends into digital products: apotheken.de (websites, apps, pDL Manager for pharmacies), JobPharm.de (pharmacy job portal), and ascendio PTA (PTA apprenticeship learning platform). The DAV Akademie provides live and on-demand professional training including INTERPHARM congress, DAV-Rezeptursommer, MMP webinars, and accredited e-learning courses (KI-Kompetenz, Medikationsanalyse, PTAheute Wissenstest). Crossmedia advertising packages (APO-Kombi All-in-One, Storytelling, Event packages) integrate print and digital reach. Market intelligence is supported by the LA-PHARM reach study. The group employs 250 people across six locations in Germany and Austria.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DAZ | Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung: Independent pharmaceutical journal for practice and science in Germany; leading pharmacy journal with over 10,000 sold subscriptions (IVW) and over 15,000 sold copies.
• PTAheute
• DAS PTA MAGAZIN
• AWA – Apotheke & Wirtschaft
• A&R – Arzneimittel & Recht
• AMT – Arzneimitteltherapie
• PPT – Psychopharmakotherapie
• MMP – Medizinische Monatsschrift für Pharmazeuten
• KPH – Krankenhauspharmazie
• MPJ – Medizinprodukte Journal
• HCM – Health&Care Management
• PKAaktiv!
• UniDAZ
• PTAheute Schule
• JobPharm
• DAV Akademie
• INTERPHARM
• DAV-Rezeptursommer
• eLibrary BiblioScout
• apothekia
• apotheken.de

Products and services

• Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung (DAZ)
• PTAheute
• DAS PTA MAGAZIN
• AWA – Apotheke & Wirtschaft
• INTERPHARM
• A&R – Arzneimittel & Recht
• AMT – Arzneimitteltherapie
• PPT – Psychopharmakotherapie
• DAV Akademie Online training and continuing-education platform (akademie.dav-medien.de) offering BAK/DAP-accredited live webinars, on-demand courses, and certification programs for pharmacists and PTA, including Medikationsanalyse, KI-Kompetenz, and Pflichtschulungen.
• apotheken.de Digital B2B platform providing pharmacies with websites, mobile apps, and the pDL Manager tool for documenting and managing pharmaceutical services (pharmazeutische Dienstleistungen).
• JobPharm.de Online job portal for pharmacy sector positions, where employers publish SEO-optimized HTML job listings cross-promoted across all DAV journal websites, reaching the pharmacy professional audience.
• Deutscher Apotheker Verlag Buchprogramm Core book-publishing program producing specialist textbooks, handbooks, guides, and looseleaf reference works for pharmacy, science, and practice, in combination with Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft Stuttgart (WVG). Approximately 10,500 available books and eBooks.
• Dr. Lennartz Laborprogramm Laboratory software program for pharmacy operations, offered as part of the company's digital product portfolio for pharmacy laboratories.
• KI-Kompetenz im Apothekenalltag Accredited online training course on AI competency for pharmacy daily operations, covering AI fundamentals, DSGVO legal requirements, and AI Act risk classification for pharmacy professionals.
• Medikationsanalyse (BAK-Curriculum) Accredited online training course based on the Bundesapothekerkammer curriculum, qualifying pharmacists to conduct and bill medication analysis as part of extended medication counseling for polymedicated patients (pDL).
• ascendio PTA E-learning platform specifically designed for PTA apprentices in pharmacies, fulfilling the §17 PTAG statutory training mandate through practical guidance and structured learning paths.
• APO-Kombi All-in-One Combined crossmedia advertising package bundling multiple leading pharmacy trade journals in a single booking with discounted rates, targeting relevant professional audiences across print and digital channels for pharmaceutical advertisers.
• BiblioScout eLibrary Proprietary digital library (eLibrary) providing digital access to DAV's book and reference content for subscribers.

Quantifiable outcome

• DAZ reaches 83% of Apothekenleiter (pharmacy managers) with highest perceived Fachkompetenz (specialist competence) vs. competing journals (LA-PHARM 2024)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• apothekia.decoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 January 2024PTAheute (DAV's flagship PTA magazine) and apothekia.de (pharmacy training platform) entered a marketing cooperation (Vermarktungskooperation) announced January 12, 2024. Pharma manufacturers can now purchase omnichannel advertising packages linking PTAheute and apothekia.de, enabling sustainable audience activation across both platforms.
• LA-MED Kommunikationsforschung im Gesundheitswesen e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024LA-MED is a healthcare communications research association that conducts the LA-PHARM readership study (every 3 years). DAV participates as a member and co-sponsor, providing validated crossmedia reach data (LA-PHARM 2024) for its media brands DAZ and PTAheute. The study is conducted by ifak-Institut.
• ifak-InstitutminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMarket research institute commissioned by LA-MED to conduct the LA-PHARM study (personal interviews with 913 pharmacy professionals). Provides validated readership and crossmedia reach data for DAV's media brands.
• ADKA — Bundesverband Deutscher Krankenhausapotheker e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKPH (Krankenhauspharmazie) is the official organ of ADKA (Bundesverband Deutscher Krankenhausapotheker). DAV publishes KPH as the association's official journal, reaching nearly all hospital pharmacies in the DACH region.
• AMSP — Institut für Arzneimittelsicherheit in der PsychiatriecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPPT (Psychopharmakotherapie) is the official organ of AMSP (Institute for Drug Safety in Psychiatry). DAV publishes PPT as the institute's journal for psychiatric pharmacotherapy, contributing to drug safety monitoring.
• Deutsche Pharmazeutische Gesellschaft (DPhG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDAZ and DPhG co-produce the 'Medikation unter der Lupe' webinar series, combining DAZ's journalism with DPhG's scientific expertise for accredited pharmacy education. From 2026, the series is hosted exclusively on the DAZ website.
• Bundesapothekerkammer (BAK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBAK (German Federal Chamber of Pharmacists) provides accreditation for DAV Akademie courses, enabling DAP/CME points for pharmacists. The Medikationsanalyse course is specifically aligned with BAK curriculum for pDL billing.
• Medizinisch Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft (MWV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMWV Berlin (Medizinisch Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft) was acquired by WVG Stuttgart (Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft) in July 2023, expanding DAV's medical publishing portfolio. The acquisition strengthens the group's presence in medicine and clinical pharmacy content.
• Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft Stuttgart (WVG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWVG Stuttgart is the parent/affiliated publishing company that acquired MWV Berlin in July 2023, adding medical publishing to WVG's portfolio within the Mediengruppe DAV structure.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Springer Medizin (Springer Nature): Subsidiary of Springer Nature publishing German-language medical professional content. Broad incumbent in healthcare publishing with crossmedia reach data and CME platforms comparable to DAV Akademie.
• Georg Thieme Verlag: Major German medical and scientific publisher (130+ journals including DMZ, DMW) operating in adjacent healthcare professional publishing with overlapping pharmacy/medicine titles and conferences.
• Wolters Kluwer Health: Global medical and healthcare publisher with Lippincott and Medknow brands, plus pharma advertising and clinical decision tools. Comparable business model combining journals, CME, and digital pharma advertising reach.
• Kohlhammer Verlag: German academic publisher with social sciences, healthcare, and pharmacy-adjacent titles. Competes in German-language specialist publishing and institutional library sales with comparable distribution.
• mgo fachverlage (formerly Mediengruppe Oberfranken): Group of German specialist publishers in healthcare, law, and lifestyle verticals. Direct peer in specialist Fachverlag market with comparable multi-brand publishing and event/advertising revenue mix.

Others

• ABDA – Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Apothekerverbände: National pharmacy association umbrella organization. Not a commercial peer, but a stakeholder that shapes the regulatory and editorial agenda; comparable in audience reach via official communications to all German pharmacists.

Emerging players

• DocCheck: Digital healthcare professional community and platform for doctors and pharmacists in Germany. Competes for digital pharma advertising and CME delivery as a modern, online-first alternative to print-rooted publishers.

Direct peers

• Wort & Bild Verlag: Publisher of Apotheken Umschau, Germany's most-read pharmacy consumer magazine. Direct peer in pharmacy professional/consumer media, competing for the same pharmacy audience and pharma advertising budgets.
• Hogrefe Verlag: German academic publisher specializing in psychology, psychiatry, and healthcare with journals (e.g., Psychopharmakotherapie-adjacent titles) and CME platforms. Direct peer in healthcare professional publishing with B2B advertising and CME business models.
• AVOXA (formerly Govi-Verlag / Pharmazeutische Zeitung): Publisher of Pharmazeutische Zeitung (PZ) and Deutscher Apotheker Kalender — the closest head-to-head competitor to DAZ in independent pharmacy professional journalism in Germany.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deutscher-apotheker-verlag
• Instagraminstagram.com/dav_medien

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries7 records

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 Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker Verlag