Teva, leader of the global generics market, targets a 60% turnover growth rate this year, to 16m euros, and a 25% increase in 2009, as part of the aggressive strategy the Israeli group is preparing for Romania.
"For Teva, Romania has become a priority, both in terms of the size and trend of the Romanian pharmaceutical market, and owing to the opportunities arising from its EU integration. This year, we've gone through a period of internal reorganisation, both domestically and internationally, with Teva Romania being affiliated to Teva Europe and not to Teva International as it had been before," said Dana Stanciulescu, country manager of Teva Pharmaceuticals.
In 2006, Teva opened an office domestically, which turned into a SRL (limited liability company) on September 1, an important move for drug producers as foreign currency risks are this way assumed and commercial relationships with distributors are carried on through the domestic entity and not directly with the parent company.
"Any country joining the EU provides different opportunities. Teva arrived later in Romania and after two and a half years we cannot be compared with other countries where we opened offices or subsidiaries 10-15 years ago".
Internationally, Teva holds a strong position in areas such as oncology, cardiology, diabetes and the central nervous system. "In Romania, we could not bring along our entire portfolio because of the national procedures that applied until EU integration.
After January 1, 2007, Romania has embraced almost all European procedures and as they are put into practice, our portfolio will also expand," says Stanciulescu.
In the first six months of this year, Teva posted sales worth 8m euros, of a total value of around 16m euros budgeted for this year. This year's 60% growth comes both from the development of existing products and from new