A joint venture in Slovenia between Sanofi-Synthélabo and Lek

10. 9. 1999

Sanofi-Synthélabo and the Slovene pharmaceutical company Lek have signed a joint-venture agreement between the two companies. This joint-venture will deal with the marketing and sale of the principal pharmaceutical specialities of Sanofi-Synthélabo including APROVELO and PLAVIXO in Slovenia and Croatia.

Sanofi-Synthélabo will hold a 51% stake of the new joint-venture, and Lek a 49% one.

Initially, the joint-venture will operate in Slovenia and Croatia. At a later stage, it will develop its operations in other countries of the region, in particular Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Albania.

Lek is primarily a pharmaceutical company, firmly based in Central and Eastern Europe. Lek has a strong position in the domestic pharmaceutical market, and has also developed a significant presence in countries covered by this agreement.

Sanofi-Synthélabo, the No. 2 French pharmaceutical company, sixth in Europe and 18th worldwide, was created on 18 May 1999. Since the opening of markets in Central and Eastern Europe, the group has developed a strong presence in these countries.

This agreement confirms Sanofi-Synthélabo’s commitment to the development of its activities in Central and Eastern Europe and Lek’s intention to strengthen its position in the region through strategic partnerships.

The name of the joint-venture will be Sanofi-Synthélabo-Lek d.o.o. The headquarters will be located in the Lek premises in Ljubljana, Slovenia.