Genesis
The Foundation is named after Luigi Rovati, a physician, researcher and pharmaceutical entrepreneur honoured by the Italian Republic with the titles of Knight of Labour and Knight of the Grand Cross of Merit.
In 1961 he founded Rotta Research Laboratorium in Monza, leading this pioneering biotech firm, an international standout in the research and development of new pharmaceuticals, to become one of Italy’s foremost multinational manufacturers in the sector.
His keen awareness of history, archaeology and research continue to inspire the Foundation, which has developed his ideas as part of the continuum of art and science that underlies the production of culture in any society of knowledge.
«The ties between history and art are fascinating. Understanding how a given people is linked to its artistic expressions, how changing styles of art mirror changes in society, is an exhilarating exercise. Recognising these ties helped me understand peoples far removed from myself in terms of time and space, establishing the foundations of my vision of how to do business.
Professor Luigi Rovati
Bio
Luigi Rovati ( 1928-2019 )
Founder of the pharmaceutical group Rottapharm|Madaus, one of the most important Italian companies active in drug research and commercialization at an international level.
A pupil of the Collegio Ghisleri in Pavia, in 1953 he graduated summa cum laude in Medicine from the University of Pavia. He later specialized in Pharmacology, a discipline in which he obtained his libera docenza (habilitation) in 1959.
He subsequently carried out intensive research abroad, particularly in France, Germany and Belgium, at the laboratory of Prof. Corneille Jean François Heymans, Belgian physician and pharmacologist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1938.
Upon returning to Italy, in 1961 he founded Rotta Research Laboratorium SpA (later renamed Rottapharm), a research laboratory where he developed drugs in the fields of rheumatology, gastroenterology, the broncho-respiratory system, gynecology and cardiology. At the same time, he led the company’s growth, making it one of the first multinational pharmaceutical companies based in Italy.
Over the course of his scientific career, he published more than 100 articles in prestigious international scientific journals. He was a member of the Executive Committee and the Supervisory Board of the Farmindustria Code of Ethics, as well as a member of the Executive Committee of Confindustria Monza e Brianza.
A supporter of many philanthropic activities in the social and cultural spheres, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Fondazione della Comunità Monza e Brianza.
He received numerous awards, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2008 for the Global category, the Giovannino d’Oro from the city of Monza in 2011, and the Beato Talamoni Award from the province of Monza and Brianza in 2012.
Since 2005 he has been a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and in 2008 he was awarded the Gold Medal of Industrial Merit by Confindustria Monza e Brianza.
In 2016, at the will of the Rovati family, the Fondazione Luigi Rovati was established, of which the professor served as Honorary President.
