Sustainability Report 2010 Lek d.d.

Lek, a Sandoz Company – Company Identity Card 18 Community Partnership Day We encourage our employees to engage in charity work, and we therefore organize an annual Community Partnership Day which is held every May. This day dedicated to employe- es helping other people constitutes regular working time. On Community Partnership Day, the management team and the employees donate blood and engage in volunteer activities to help those in need. We offer help to the homeless, elderly, socially deprived, various non-governmental and charity in- stitutions, and others. Open House Day At the Menge‰ production site, an Open House Day was held on 22 June 2010 for local fire brigades, which represents a new step in the tradition of this event (at the Prevalje site in June 2009, at the Lendava site in September 2009). Drug information folders in Braille For our customers, we have included texts in Braille in the information folders for all our drug products, including Lek self-medication drugs. Team support for children’s bicycles As part of a Team Communication and Team Games educa- tion program, Lek employees working in Biomedicine assem- bled children’s bicycles which they donated to the Kranjska Gora holiday home of the Ljubljana Moste – Polje Friends of Youth Association. Glossary of key terms Biotechnology Biotechnology combines all the technological applications using biological systems, living organisms or their deriva- tives with a purpose of creating or adjusting products and processes for a specific use. In the technological use of bio- logical cultures, it combines microbiology, biochemistry and engineering. Recombinant DNA technology It is frequently referred to as gene cloning or genetic engine- ering. The information needed for the synthesis of a specific protein in the human organism (the desired protein-encoding sequence, or the gene) is transferred from the human orga- nism into another organism, most frequently into a bacteria, isolated mammalian cells or yeasts. Based on the informati- on received, these new cells produce larger quantities of the protein still having a human structure. Biopharmaceutics Biopharmaceutics is the latest and the fastest growing branch of pharmaceutical science. In Slovenia and globally, the biologics market is growing twice as fast as the entire drug market. Due to highly complex research and development, biological drugs are extremely costly. Similar biological drugs, however, are more cost effective and affordable to a larger group of people. Lek started its own genetic technology development as early as in the 1980’s, creating a solid foundation for the manufacture of recombinant proteins and/or biopharmaceuticals for human use. Similar biological drugs The concept of biological similarity as defined by the Europe- an Medicinal Products Act requires a higher level of exper- tise in science, technology and logistics. The term “similar biological drug” denotes a biological drug of quality, safety and efficacy identical to that of the original drug, yet more affordable to the patients. They are complex, naturally pro- duced protein components which the human organism con- tains in extremely small quantities, yet their lack may cause various diseases and abnormal development. Chemically, biosimilars are protein drugs or glycoproteins. GMO (genetically modified organisms) A GMO is an organism (with the exception of humans) or microorganism whose genetic material has been altered using techniques which change the genetic material in ways different from crossbreeding or natural recombination under natural conditions. Antibiotics Antibiotics are active pharmaceutical ingredients interfering with bacterial metabolism or killing bacteria. Modern science knows several thousand substances producing an antibiotic effect. In practice, there are several dozen molecules which have been fully established in standard medical practice. Cer- tain bacteria produce beta-lactamase and are therefore resi- stant to specific forms of antibiotics. Clavulanic acid is a beta- lactamase inhibitor. In combination with potassium clavulanate which prevents bacterial resistance to amoxicillin action, the antibiotic is effective in the treatment of bacterial infections.