10/24/2006

U.S. medicines may be produced in Poland

The new owner of Pliva promises further investment in the Krakow plant. Some production from the USA may be shifted there as well.

Croatian Pliva, the owner of the former Polfa Kraków plant, has changed its shareholder. The U.S. holding Barr Pharmaceuticals has bought 92 percent of Pliva. This means changes for the Polish plant in Krakow which so far has produced generic medicines for the Polish market mainly. Barr’s management stressed that prior to any decisions, a special team comprised of the representatives of both companies, will review all the assets of the new group.

“Pliva has a strong position in Central and Eastern Europe while Barr is present mainly in the USA. We nearly do not cover the production range, which gives us new opportunities. We would like to shift some of the production from the USA to European plants. We will review our portfolio and make certain decisions. We particularly care to further develop dry forms in Krakow and Zagrzeb”, Bruce L. Downey, Barr CEO said.

He is going to continue the production shift from Western Europe to the plant in Kraków.

The transaction created the world’s third largest pharmaceutical group listed in New York. The joint sales of Barr and Pliva will amount to USD 2.4 billion. The group will have over 25 innovative medicines sold in the USA and generating over USD 400m annually. It will also be the owner of over 120 generic medicines in the USA with USD 1 billion of annual sales. Its portfolio of generic medicines in Poland, Croatia, Germany, Spain, the UK, Italy and Russia generates USD 600m annually. Over 50 generic medicines of the group is waiting for registration in the USA.
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