Hungarian medicine does the trick
The so-called "day after" emergency contraceptive pill, which has so far met with a limited response here, is being rebranded and marketed as effective up to 72 hours following intercourse, but it will still not be available directly over the counter at pharmacies. Hungarian company Gedeon Richter does not manufacture the pill at its plant at Grodzisk Mazowiecki, 30 kilometres west of Warsaw, but markets it through its Polish operation.
Product manager Rafał Prażanowski told the Business Journal that the firm had rechristened the pill as Postinor-2 and confirmed that advice to doctors and pharmacies that the pill would only be effective if taken within an hour had now been adjusted. The preparation itself had not been altered.
Zsusza Becke, Gedeon Richter's public relations spokeswoman at headquarters, said the firm had developed a small market for the pill in Hungary and a much larger one in the United Kingdom, where it was freely available over the counter without a doctor's prescription.
But that is not likely to be the case here for some time. A doctor's prescription will remain necessary, although the product is resisted by some doctors on moral grounds: a leading gynaecologist agreed, saying it had found "little favour" in the profession. Other observers suggested the existence of the pill was in some respects "almost a best-kept secret." Nevertheless, the company reports that the overall demand for its oral contraceptives is strong and on the increase.
It's the latest stage in the rapid development of what is now Central Europe's sole example of a pharmaceuticals company prospering without a foreign strategic investor. After rapid expansion in Hungary, and then in the CIS, Gedeon Richter bought control of the long-established Grodziskie Zakłady Farmaceutyczne "Polfa" in June last year, adopting the unusual route of forming a new company, in which Gedeon Richter took a $125 million 51% stake, while the state treasury retained 49% in return for tipping in the assets of the state company. Gedeon Richter's option to acquire a further 25% was likely to be exercised, Becke confirmed.
The company has managed the unique achievement of expanding rapidly in international markets without taking a major strategic foreign investor on board, Becke says, because foreign investors who hold 58.4% of the stock, plus the state privatisation company with 25%, are keen to retain independence. Domestic investors account for 16.4% of the equity. Performance supplies a substantial answer. By the end of last year, sales amounted to €359.2 million, a significant increase of 24.8% over the same period the year before. Another factor is strong exports to EU countries and the US, especially in gynaecological preparations. Richter shares are rated a popular blue-chip paper on the Budapest exchange. Shares are also quoted in Luxembourg and on SEAQ, the London Stock Exchange's service for mid-caps.
It all added up to an operating profit of €101.8 million for the year.
The Polish operation is now up to 1,100 employees, and while no further acquisitions are contemplated here at the present time, Gedeon Richter is investing approximately €5 million over the next five years under the privatisation agreement. The Gedeon Richter magic is also clearly working strongly. As the largest market in the firm's portfolio, it recorded sales of €19.4 million during the first three quarters, almost 10% up on the previous year.
This was achieved despite what the company described as "adverse factors," which included the list of subsidised pharmaceutical preparations announced by the government and the fixed reimbursement to prices in złotys. Growth was attributed to higher sales across the range of oral contraceptives and by the anti-hypertensive preparation Diroton, boosted by a specialist sales team.
Domestic sales account for almost 90% of production, and the remaining 10% is exported, with strong markets in Holland, Belgium and Germany, and the CIS countries. The company has also penetrated the US market.
The principle advantage of the "fresh start" approach to privatisation was the construction of a new state-of-the-art drug production facility. Becke said another benefit was the introduction of Gedeon Richter's deep research and development experience into the Grodzisk facility, to advance the product range.
Shareholders received a handsome Christmas present from the Hungarian government, and approved by the EU, of a 100% tax holiday for five years extending from January 1, 200l, in return for a capital investment programme of HUF 10 billion (€40.7 million). The tax break will last until 2011.
Product manager Rafał Prażanowski told the Business Journal that the firm had rechristened the pill as Postinor-2 and confirmed that advice to doctors and pharmacies that the pill would only be effective if taken within an hour had now been adjusted. The preparation itself had not been altered.
Zsusza Becke, Gedeon Richter's public relations spokeswoman at headquarters, said the firm had developed a small market for the pill in Hungary and a much larger one in the United Kingdom, where it was freely available over the counter without a doctor's prescription.
But that is not likely to be the case here for some time. A doctor's prescription will remain necessary, although the product is resisted by some doctors on moral grounds: a leading gynaecologist agreed, saying it had found "little favour" in the profession. Other observers suggested the existence of the pill was in some respects "almost a best-kept secret." Nevertheless, the company reports that the overall demand for its oral contraceptives is strong and on the increase.
It's the latest stage in the rapid development of what is now Central Europe's sole example of a pharmaceuticals company prospering without a foreign strategic investor. After rapid expansion in Hungary, and then in the CIS, Gedeon Richter bought control of the long-established Grodziskie Zakłady Farmaceutyczne "Polfa" in June last year, adopting the unusual route of forming a new company, in which Gedeon Richter took a $125 million 51% stake, while the state treasury retained 49% in return for tipping in the assets of the state company. Gedeon Richter's option to acquire a further 25% was likely to be exercised, Becke confirmed.
The company has managed the unique achievement of expanding rapidly in international markets without taking a major strategic foreign investor on board, Becke says, because foreign investors who hold 58.4% of the stock, plus the state privatisation company with 25%, are keen to retain independence. Domestic investors account for 16.4% of the equity. Performance supplies a substantial answer. By the end of last year, sales amounted to €359.2 million, a significant increase of 24.8% over the same period the year before. Another factor is strong exports to EU countries and the US, especially in gynaecological preparations. Richter shares are rated a popular blue-chip paper on the Budapest exchange. Shares are also quoted in Luxembourg and on SEAQ, the London Stock Exchange's service for mid-caps.
It all added up to an operating profit of €101.8 million for the year.
The Polish operation is now up to 1,100 employees, and while no further acquisitions are contemplated here at the present time, Gedeon Richter is investing approximately €5 million over the next five years under the privatisation agreement. The Gedeon Richter magic is also clearly working strongly. As the largest market in the firm's portfolio, it recorded sales of €19.4 million during the first three quarters, almost 10% up on the previous year.
This was achieved despite what the company described as "adverse factors," which included the list of subsidised pharmaceutical preparations announced by the government and the fixed reimbursement to prices in złotys. Growth was attributed to higher sales across the range of oral contraceptives and by the anti-hypertensive preparation Diroton, boosted by a specialist sales team.
Domestic sales account for almost 90% of production, and the remaining 10% is exported, with strong markets in Holland, Belgium and Germany, and the CIS countries. The company has also penetrated the US market.
The principle advantage of the "fresh start" approach to privatisation was the construction of a new state-of-the-art drug production facility. Becke said another benefit was the introduction of Gedeon Richter's deep research and development experience into the Grodzisk facility, to advance the product range.
Shareholders received a handsome Christmas present from the Hungarian government, and approved by the EU, of a 100% tax holiday for five years extending from January 1, 200l, in return for a capital investment programme of HUF 10 billion (€40.7 million). The tax break will last until 2011.
