As the leadership of Ego Pharmaceuticals has passed from one generation of the Oppenheim family to the next, so too has its core purpose: the transformation of lives through the science of healthy skin.

​“I am incredibly proud that our science-backed products, like QV Skincare, have a real and measurable impact, validated by clinical results and patient success stories,” says Dr Jane Oppenheim, CEO & Director, who has won CEO of the Year and Manufacturing Executive of the Year at The CEO Magazine’s 2025 Executive of the Year Awards.

QV Skincare, its flagship brand with sales in excess of US$87 million in 2024, is among a suite of well-known brands from the Melbourne-based dermatological skincare business. Others include Aqium hand sanitizer, DermAid topical corticosteroids for minor skin irritations, MOOV head lice treatments and Azclear Action acne treatment.

​But its inflammation treatment Pinetarsol was the product that put Ego Pharmaceuticals on the path to becoming a real Australian success story. When chemist Gerald Oppenheim and his wife, Rae, a nurse, perfected the recipe for Pine Tar Bath Solution (the name it was initially released under) in the laundry of their Melbourne home in 1953, they also launched a business that has evolved from a small family-owned operation to a global leader.​

“We export our Australian-made products to over 20 nations, with exports accounting for approximately 50 percent of our sales,” Oppenheim reveals. The company also employs around 700 people across 14 countries.

The competitive advantage

Oppenheim, who was recently inducted into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame, says that Ego Pharmaceuticals’ sustained commercial success in manufacturing is built on unwavering integrity, a long-term vision, a purpose-driven culture and a refusal to compromise.​

“We uphold a mandate that if a product is not backed by science, we will not do it,” she says.

The company spends nearly US$2 million annually on R&D to ensure all products meet the highest scientific and therapeutic claims.

​“Ego Pharmaceuticals has demonstrated that a commitment to quality and making all products to pharmaceutical standards, as well as a commitment to ethics and rejecting unethical requests, is not a hurdle, but a powerful competitive advantage that earns the lasting trust of consumers and industry professionals globally,” Oppenheim says.

​In the past decade, the company reinforced its commitment to driving advanced manufacturing in Australia with a US$102 million investment to boost its manufacturing capabilities as well as create 90 new jobs.​

Its Braeside facility has been boosted with the opening of the state-of-the-art Zorzi Innovation Centre for research, development and manufacturing expansion, while the Green Core sustainability project focuses on minimizing its footprint by reducing carbon emissions, along with water and energy usage, at its Braeside and Dandenong South sites. A new cream filling line and expanded warehouse operations round out the investment.

​As the industry moves toward highly connected, data-driven smart factories, Oppenheim says Ego Pharmaceuticals is actively pursuing Industry 4.0 by building systems and equipment with full connectivity.​

“We’re also preparing for Industry 5.0 by planning the implementation of collaborative robots and digital twins to enhance safety and efficiency,” she says.

​One Ego family

Oppenheim, who has a PhD from Monash University and a postdoctoral fellowship from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research at the University of Melbourne, has been with Ego Pharmaceuticals for over 35 years, first joining as Research Director. She became CEO in early 2025. She met her husband, Alan, the son of the company’s founders, as an undergraduate at university.​

With Alan the Managing Director, the pair now helm a business with what Oppenheim calls the ‘one Ego family’ spirit.

“We cultivate an open, inclusive and collaborative atmosphere where all 700 employees are part of the Ego Pharmaceuticals family,” she explains. “This is reinforced through shared communal activities, fostering genuine connections beyond the workplace.”

​A testament to the strong, values-led culture at Ego Pharmaceuticals is the loyalty of its people.

“The dedication of our team is remarkable,” she says, adding that it’s quite common to have employees stay with the company for 25 and 30 years.​

Oppenheim is particularly proud of its sales and marketing team, who she describes as the best in over-the-counter healthcare.

“Ego Pharmaceuticals has won the most valued awards from the Consumer Health Care Australia, our industry organization, regularly for over 20 years, including the awards for Most Trusted Partner (Pharmacy), Quality Use of Medicines and Sustainability,” she says.​

When asked to name her favorite part of her job, Oppenheim has no shortage of responses.

“I find it profoundly rewarding that Ego Pharmaceuticals has built a high-achieving team of around 700 professionals ready to take on the challenges of continuous global growth, and I love building pharmaceutical plants and seeing them filled with advanced manufacturing equipment,” she reveals.​

But perhaps most of all?

“I love that Ego Pharmaceuticals is improving the lives of people through the science of healthy skin,” she concludes.