Lek Purchases the Romanian Pharmaceutical Company Pharmatech

10. 1. 2001

Ljubljana, Bucharest, January 10 – The Slovenian pharmaceutical company Lek, is announcing the purchase of a 90% stake in the privately-held Romanian pharmaceutical company, PharmaTech. The two companies see a great synergy in their activities, particularly in terms of complementary portfolios of antibiotic products and the international diversification of business. With the purchase of the Romanian company, Lek will be increasing its presence on the Romanian market and will become one of the leading companies selling antibiotics in the region.

The principal activity of the company PharmaTech, which has its headquarters at Targu Mures in northwestern Romania, is the production and sale of pharmaceuticals. The company was established in 1994 and in the ensuing five years developed into one of the leading producers of antibiotics in Romania. In 1998, PharmaTech became the majority owner of the principal distributor of its products – PharmaFarm.

The pharmaceutical companies, Lek and PharmaTech, estimate that in 2001 they will achieve consolidated sales of 21.85 million US dollars of which 6.5 million US dollars will be contributed by Lek. This level of sales will place the merged company among the top ten pharmaceutical companies in Romania.

For Lek, the purchase of the Romanian pharmaceutical company PharmaTech offers synergy in production capacity and in distribution and will guarantee the achievement of key strategic goals regarding the level of sales and market share in Romania. The purchase can also be seen as the starting point for Lek’s international diversification in this region.

For PharmaTech Lek represents a reliable partner, insuring quality products and transfer of expertise as well as the establishment of international standards of good manufacturing practice (GMP) and the international diversification of business. In the future, Lek will also maintain a number of employment positions at the Romanian company.

The result of the cooperation between the two companies will be a wider portfolio of pharmaceutical products. In the next five years, PharmaTech will specialize in the production of peroral cephalosporin antibiotics (safe and effective antibiotics which are part of the up-todate treatment for a number of infections) and will become one of the top five antibiotic manufacturers in Romania.

Announcing the purchase of the Romanian pharmaceutical company, Lek’s president Metod Dragonja emphasized: “With this purchase, Lek is increasing its market share and at the same time becoming one of the leading manufacturers of antibiotics in the region. The purchase is in accordance with Lek’s strategic goals and ensures the continuation of our process of international diversification."