Pharmaceutical industry waits for strategic investors as PGF restructures

Recent speculation about the sale of shares of Polska Grupa Farmaceutyczna (PGF), the biggest Polish distributor of medicines, to a foreign investor have not been borne out in any concluded transactions. Analysts of the Polish pharmaceutical market maintain that foreign distributors are still restraining from investing in Poland. According to Joanna Szymanska-Bulska, head of the board of the Polish subsidiary of German Phoenix, one of the biggest European distributors of pharmaceuticals, the Polish market must stabilize before foreign companies begin to invest. In her opinion this could take as long as two years. Wojciech Rosicki, a PGF representative, concurs with this opinion about the market as a whole, yet notes that there are chances to complete the restructuring of PGF in the middle of this year. He also confirmed that during last year's negotiations all the largest foreign pharmaceutical companies made offers. (Puls Biznesu, p.5) A.D.