Krka was built on a long tradition of pharmacy in the Novo Mesto area. The first pharmacies began to emerge behind monastery walls in this region as early as the 12th and 13th centuries. By the 15th century, a monastery pharmacy was established in Novo Mesto. The first regional pharmacy in Novo Mesto was founded in 1570 with support from regional authorities. It was managed by Peter Klaus, who worked as a pharmacist's assistant. This pharmacy remained operational continuously for 380 years until 1950 when it was nationalized and renamed the Novo Mesto Town Pharmacy. The Krka Pharmaceutical Laboratory was founded in 1954 on the initiative of
Boris Andrijanič, who was running the Novo Mesto Town Pharmacy at the time. Initially, it employed only nine workers, but within two years it had already grown into a pharmaceutical factory. Although the first
medicines were registered on the domestic market, Krka started making inroads into foreign
markets already in the 1960s. During this period, it added licensed products to its product portfolio and obtained its first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) registrations for the production of antibiotics by the late 1970s. In the early 1980s, Krka shifted its focus to developing its own value-added generic products. It began expanding its international marketing network, significantly strengthening its position in European markets. Throughout this period, Krka intensively increased its production capacity and invested in research and development. In 1985, the Works Council appointed Miloš Kovačič as the new Chairman of Krka's Management Board. In 1997, Krka became a
public limited company and listed its shares on the
Ljubljana Stock Exchange. In 2005, Jože Colarič became the third Chairman of the Management Board and CEO. ==References==