Pharma Company Egis Cooperates with Örkény Theater

Novel writing competition, video interview, exhibition: the pharmaceutical company Egis and the Örkény Theater in Budapest are launching several joint initiatives to mark the 110th anniversary of the founding of the company and the 111th anniversary of the birth of Hungarian writer István Örkény. The cooperation is based on the fact that István Örkény, whose name the theater has borne since 2004, worked for the company between 1958 and 1963.

2023 is a jubilee year for Egis, as in February, it was 110 years since the company was registered in the commercial register under the name Dr. Wander Gyógyszer- és Tápszergyár Rt. The founder was Sándor Balla. The company, renamed United Pharmaceutical and Therapeutic Products Factory (EGYT) in 1950, became one of the leading companies in the Hungarian pharmaceutical industry in the second third of the 20th century, and has retained this position for several decades – after a name change, now known as Egis Pharmaceuticals.

A writer in solidarity with the 1956 revolution, István Örkény arrived at the factory in Kőbánya as a political exile, deprived of his publishing opportunities. He was employed for five years – thanks to his qualifications as a pharmacist and chemical engineer – before beginning his return to literary life.

The pharmaceutical factory and the theater that bears the writer's name have several projects in his memory. A video interview was made with István Örkény's widow, dramaturge Zsuzsa Radnóti, and they will soon launch a joint short story competition for works inspired by Örkény's short stories.

In the foyer of the theater, there is also an exhibition of István Örkény's years at the factory located in Kőbánya, Budapest’s District 10. The documents on display recall this little-known period in the writer's life, evoking the special atmosphere of the late fifties and early sixties.