Terapia invests 4m euros in injectables

Terapia Cluj, Romania's second-largest drugmaker, has finalised a 4 million-euro investment programme aimed at the modernisation of the injectable drugs unit, to comply with the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards.

The production line, accounting for about 20% of the company's turnover, is likely to be restarted this week.

"We are now conducting the last tests for the new equipment, and the line will gradually start working in the following days. The injectable drugs we produce are not included in the portfolio of any other Romanian producer, and this is why this programme is so important," Stephen Stead, Terapia's general manager, told Ziarul Financiar.

Sicomed Bucharest and Terapia are the main manufacturers of injectable drugs in Romania.

Terapia's annual turnover revolves around $32 million, which means that sales of injectable drugs can exceed 6 million dollars.

"Once production resumes, we will launch new injectable drugs, as we get the necessary licences from the National Drugs Agency," Stead said.

Terapia was the first Romanian company to get a GMP certificate, for the solid drugs unit, in 1999.

The four million-euro investment programme aimed at the injectable drugs unit lasted about eighteen months, being kick-started and largely carried on by Terapia's former shareholders and managers.

The company was bought last year, for about $45 million, by US-based investment fund Advent. The sellers were several investment funds and a Romanian trading company.

Several months after the change in the shareholding structure, the company's former general manager, Dorin Toderas, stepped down and was replaced by Stephen Stead.

Terapia's new shareholders and managers are planning to double the company's value over the next four years by further implementing the personnel restructuring programme, as well as by launching new products and boosting exports.

Terapia's personnel will be downsized this year from 700 to 550 employees, down from 1,450 employees in 2002.

To support product development operations, environment investments and distribution activities, Advent raised Terapia's share capital by $4 million early this year.

With a market share of 3.7%, Terapia is currently the second-largest Romanian drug producer and the fifth-largest player on a highly fragmented market worth over 600 million euros per year, following GlaxoSmithKline (Great Britain), Novartis (Switzerland), Pfizer (US) and Sicomed.
laurentiu.ispir@zf.ro