GlaxoSmithKline turns Romania into export base for antidepressant

The Europharm plant in Brasov, held by British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will reach 300 million euros in exports in three years' time, after production of an antidepressant currently manufactured in countries such as France and the UK is moved to Brasov. The antidepressant, Paroxetine, will be exported to over 85 countries, i.e. a market of several hundreds of millions of patients. "I think 2010 will see us hit the maximum production capacity, with annual exports set to reach around 300 million euros in over 85 countries," said Patrick M. Desbiens, vice-president and general manager of GSK Romania. The plant in Brasov thus becomes an export base in Europe for the British giant, just as Iceland-based Actavis turned Romania into its development driver on the oncology drugs segment, while the former Sindan plant in Romania has been turned into a production centre that delivers drugs used to treat cancer to markets such as Japan, Poland, Russia and the US. The Hungarian group Gedeon Richter, which entered the Romanian market in 1998, also turned it into an exclusive production centre for two of its drugs. Around half the sales of the Targu Mures-based plant are accounted for by exports. Europharm Brasov became a part of British giant GSK in 1998, in the wake of a 29.25 million-dollar transaction. This move secured the top position among players in the field for the multinational, which it, however, lost in 2008.