Ophaco

Name

Ophaco

Legal name

OPHACO - Office belge des sociétés coopératives de grossistes pharmaceutiques et de pharmacies

Website

https://ophaco.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pharmaceutical Trade Association

NAICS

Drugs and Druggists' Sundries Merchant Wholesalers (42421), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Wholesale-Drugs, Proprietaries & Druggists' Sundries (5122), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

OTC & Consumer Health Distributors (HLAIAJAC)

Keywords

• Pharmaceutical wholesale distribution
• Cooperative pharmacy network
• Pharmacy professional association
• Pharmacy advocacy services
• Pharmaceutical policy representation

Headquarters

HQ city

Anderlecht

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership dues / association fees: OPHACO operates as a non-profit association (vzw/ASBL). Revenue is derived from membership contributions from its 6 member cooperative societies, which in turn represent pharmacies and wholesale distributors across Belgium.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ophaco is a Belgian non-profit professional association that represents and defends the interests of cooperative pharmaceutical wholesalers and pharmacies in Belgium. It federates six member cooperative societies and acts as the recognized voice of the cooperative pharmacy sector in healthcare policy, public-health campaigns, and economic representation. The association coordinates advocacy, training, and public-health initiatives on behalf of its member cooperatives.

Product overview

OPHACO is a professional association (non-profit organization) representing cooperative pharmaceutical wholesale distributors and pharmacies in Belgium. It does not offer a technical product or software platform. Its member organizations (Coop Apotheken, EPC Familia, Multipharma, Pharma Santé, Apotheken Solidaris, Vpharma) operate pharmacies and wholesale distribution services. Services include pharmaceutical care, vaccination administration, individual medication preparation for residential care facilities, and health data sharing with government health networks (Vaccicard, Réseaux Santé).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 12% of public pharmacies in Belgium are represented by OPHACO member cooperatives (570 pharmacies)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• APB (Association des Unions de Pharmaciens)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025OPHACO collaborates with APB and the Brussels and Walloon Health Networks (Réseaux Santé Bruxellois et Wallon) on sharing flu vaccination data recorded in pharmacies. This partnership enables automatic sharing of vaccination data with health networks for patient and healthcare professional access via the Vaccicard module.
• Réseaux Santé Bruxellois et Wallon (Brussels and Walloon Health Networks)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaborative partnership to share flu vaccination data recorded in pharmacies with health networks, improving vaccination tracking and patient health record completeness via the Vaccicard module integrated into pharmacy software.
• UEPS / EUSA (Union Européenne des Pharmacies Sociales / Europese Unie van Sociale Apotheken)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1961OPHACO is a founding member of the European Union of Social Pharmacies (UEPS/EUSA), established in 1961. UEPS is a European professional association defending the interests of social, cooperative, and mutualist pharmacy groups. Its objectives include defending the existence and development of social pharmacies in Europe, promoting the social pharmacy model, facilitating information exchange between members, and advocating for social protection legislation in public health. UEPS operates in Belgium, France, Italy, and Switzerland.
• Belgian Federal and Regional Health AuthoritiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOPHACO maintains regular engagement with RIZIV (National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance), SPF Santé publique (Federal Public Health Service), FAGG/AFMPS (Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products), Platform eHealth, regional agencies (AViQ, Vivalis, Departement Zorg), and SPF Economie. These bodies are key stakeholders in healthcare policy and regulation.
• FebecoopminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFebecoop (Flemish cooperative federation) collaborated with OPHACO on a brainstorming session about cooperative values (May 2025), facilitated by Peter Bosmans, Director Flanders-Brussels at Febecoop.
• International Co-operative Alliance / Coops in EuropeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOPHACO is listed as a stakeholder connected to the International Co-operative Alliance and Coops in Europe, reflecting its cooperative identity and international cooperative movement affiliations.
• Goed Farma CVSOminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGoed Farma CVSO sold its 88 pharmacies, wholesale distribution activities, and pharmacy support services to OPHACO member Multipharma (pending Belgian Competition Authority approval). Goed retains its home care business and will focus on that sector after the transfer.
• CCRef (Centre de Coordination et Référence pour le dépistage des cancers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOPHACO collaborates with CCRef, AUP, and with AVIQ and the German-speaking Community support on the Mars Bleu colorectal cancer screening campaign, promoting free screening kits available in pharmacies in Wallonia and German-speaking community.
• Gynca's AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOPHACO participated in a roundtable organized by Gynca's at the Belgian Parliament (February 2025) on eliminating HPV-related cancers by 2030, contributing to the 90/90/2030 vaccination and screening targets.
• AFMPS / FAGG (Agence Fédérale des Médicaments et Produits de Santé)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOPHACO references and promotes PharmaInfo, an innovative web portal created by AFMPS providing comprehensible and reliable information about medicines and health products for citizens and patients.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Fédération des Syndicats Pharmaceutiques de France (FSPF): Leading French pharmacists' trade union. Comparable advocacy role for community pharmacy interests vis-à-vis national authorities and health insurers, but operating in France rather than Belgium.
• Union des Syndicats de Pharmaciens d'Officine (USPO): French community pharmacy union, also a member of UEPS alongside Ophaco's network. Comparable trade association function for pharmacists in France.
• Farmindustria: Italian pharmaceutical industry association. Adjacent trade body representing pharma companies (manufacturers, not pharmacies) in Italy; relevant peer given UEPS members in Italy and the parallel policy/advocacy role at national level.

Broad incumbents

• ABDA - Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Apothekerverbände: German federal association of pharmacists' associations. Comparable professional advocacy body representing pharmacists at federal level, including engagement on pricing, regulation, and public health, paralleling Ophaco's role in Belgium but at a much larger scale.
• Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU): European umbrella association representing community pharmacists across the EU. Comparable to Ophaco's EU-facing role but operating at pan-European level across all pharmacy models rather than solely cooperative/social pharmacy.
• Koninklijke Nederlandse Maatschappij ter bevordering der Pharmacie (KNMP): Royal Dutch Pharmacists Association, the principal professional body for pharmacists in the Netherlands. Comparable role in representing pharmacy interests to government and shaping sector policy, but at a national level for the broader pharmacist population rather than cooperative wholesalers.

Direct peers

• Association Pharmaceutique Belge (APB): National professional association representing independent pharmacists in Belgium. Directly comparable to Ophaco as a Belgian pharmacy trade body, though APB focuses on retail pharmacists while Ophaco represents the cooperative wholesale+pharmacy segment.
• UEPS / EUSA (Union Européenne des Pharmacies Sociales): European federation of social, cooperative, and mutualist pharmacies of which Ophaco is a founding member. Directly comparable as a trade body defending the same cooperative model across Belgium, France, Italy, and Switzerland.

Others

• Febecoop: Flemish cooperative federation and partner of Ophaco on cooperative values. Comparable as a Belgian cooperative umbrella body, but cross-sector rather than pharma-specific.
• Ordre des pharmaciens (Belgium): Belgian statutory regulatory body for pharmacists. Adjacent rather than directly comparable — focuses on deontology and registration, while Ophaco focuses on commercial and policy representation of cooperatives.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ophaco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Ophaco