Teva to build €75m API plant in Hungary
Pharmaceuticals, is to build a $100 million (€75m) factory for the
production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in
Sajobabony, Hungary.
Between 60 and 100 people will be employed at the facility, and its production will be mostly exported. Indeed, Hungary with the help of companies like Teva is developing its pharmaceutical exports industry well. Last year, the country exported drugs and medical supplies to the value of $1.11bn in 2004, a year-on-year increase of 52.6 per cent, while imports of these products rose 29.4 per cent to $1.54bn, according to the Hungary's Central Statistical Office.
Teva's Hungarian subsidiaries alone recorded total sales revenues worth around HUF 166 billion (€677m) in 2004, over half of which came from exports. Profits last year were higher than in 2003. Teva started manufacturing in Hungary in 1995 and now employs 2,300 people there.
Poland and Hungary are the largest pharmaceutical markets among those countries that joined the EU last year, at 45 per cent and 23 per cent of the total drug market by value. They have both been advancing almost 20 per cent a year since 1998, according to a study published earlier this year by Frost & Sullivan, and this has made them attractive locations for multinationals seeking to expand their Eastern European presence.
For example, France's Sanofi-Aventis has revealed plans to set up a €15m R&D centre at Chinoin, its Hungarian subsidiary. The Hungarian research unit is currently involved in 45 Sanofi-Aventis developmental projects including initial research and clinical testing.
Expanding in Asia?
Meanwhile, Asian newswire reports last week suggested that Teva was planning to enter the $9.5bn Chinese pharmaceutical market via a controlling stake in local biologics producer Tianjin Hualida Biotechnology. The $20m company is the market leader in China for interferon alpha-2b, used in the treatment of hepatitis, with its Anferon brand.
Teva already owns a 45 per cent of the firm, with the remainder held by China's third-biggest drug company Tianjin Pharmaceuticals. The Israeli firm is also said to be eyeing generic company acquisitions in India.
