October 2024
The successful history of the MSJ Group begins in 1944 when Michael S. Jacovides opened his first pharmacy at Vitsi Street, the busiest area in downtown Nicosia, Cyprus. This year, the Group celebrates 80 years of leading presence in the major health sectors in Greece and Cyprus, while at the same time setting the sights for the future emphasizing on our most valuable asset, Life.
On September 18th, the Group celebrated this important 80-year milestone with a historical exhibition that was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Health, other health institutions, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Economy, the Media, local partners, health professionals, and MSJ Group members from Cyprus and Greece.
The exhibition featured pharmaceutical memorabilia such as the antique pharmacy bench, the old telephone- one of the three first ones installed in Cyprus at the time- for order taking, the bicycle used for drug delivery as well as old and contemporary photos ranging from the early years of the “Michel Pharmacy” to date. During the exhibition a video displaying narratives by the four Jacovides brothers, recounting how their father’s insight to move to import and make available the first ready-made medicines in the 1950s, transformed the small pharmacy into a chain of pharmacies and within a few years to the leading group of companies we all know in the Cyprus health sector. Michalakis’s entrepreneurial spirit paved the way for his four sons: Sotos, Savvas, Alexandros and Aris Jacovides to further advance and expand, initially in Cyprus and later on in Greece, the MSJ Group into the fields of biopharmaceuticals, high-tech medical devices, medical disposables, laboratory equipment & supplies, consumer health, OTC and organic nutrition, food supplements and most recently in dermoceuticals.
An important strategic move in the growth of the Group was the expansion of the business in Greece, firstly with the establishment of the medical devices company M.S. Jacovides Hellas in 1982 and then in partnership with Mr. Costas Evripides, in 1997 with the biopharmaceutical firm Genesis Pharma -currently the largest company of the Group with offices in Central and Eastern Europe.
With a strong presence and high standing close to a century old, MSJ Group is moving ahead with optimism, with the participation of five third-generation members. With its distinguished professional management, it is looking forward to new successes, healthy growth and development while focusing on its long-lasting commitment to raising healthcare standards in the areas where it operates.
The MSJ Group comprises of seven independent firms and employs 400 people, holding a leading position in the Healthcare sector in Greece and Cyprus.