Instigator and promoter of the scientific section of the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of the Two Worlds) in Spoleto, SpoletoScienza, organized by the
Fondazione Sigma-Tau, which quickly established itself as one of the most important events dedicated to matters of science and epistemology of our times. After having graduated with a degree in pharmaceutical chemistry and studied for some time under Professor Noris Siliprandi, Professor of
Biochemistry at the University of
Padua, Cavazza soon made the decision to dedicate himself to entrepreneurial activities. His entrepreneurial breakthrough into the pharmaceutical sector happened in the mid 1960s, thanks to the launch of
Rekord B12, which soon became one of the highest selling medicines in
Italy and elsewhere. Its success originated from the discovery that
vitamin B12 develops an antiasthenic and antidepressant effect at high doses. The medicine was also distinctively packaged in a particularly innovatively designed tube, which was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in
New York City. An equally fundamental step in the history of
Sigma-Tau group was the decision – resulting from the passion and determination of Claudio Cavazza – to dedicate significant resources to scientific research into the study of
carnitine, an endogenous substance of natural origin that is without side effects, which intervenes in the processes that allow cells to produce their own energy sources. The study of
carnitine produced preparations of proven efficiency, able to correct
metabolic defects, whether congenital or acquired, in different clinical situations. Over the years,
Sigma-Tau group has broadened its presence in the international scene with branches not only in the major European countries of
France,
Switzerland, the
Netherlands,
Belgium,
Portugal,
Germany, and the
United Kingdom, but also in
India, and with two production plants in the
United States and
Spain.
Sigma-Tau group has around 2,500 employees, 400 of whom are researchers involved in the most advanced sectors of national and worldwide research in which it reinvests 16% of its turnover. == Roles ==