U.S. buyer for consolidated drug producer Polfa?

Treasury Minister Wieslaw Kaczmarek plans to create a national pharmaceutica ls conglomerate early next year, which he claims would allow the government to save money on refunding medicines. The conglomerate will likely comprise of three Polfa companies - Warszawa, Pabianice and Tarchomin and possibly al so Jelfa. The conglomerate, worth between zl. 623 to zl. 904 million accordi ng to the Treasury, would then be privatized through sale on the stock excha nge. However, it is also possible that a foreign investor from the sector wo uld acquire a stake. "After my visit to the U.S. [accompanying President Ale ksander Kwasniewski], I know that there are several American corporations ve ry interested in owning a stake in such a group in Poland," said Kaczmarek. The objective of the conglomerate would be for domestically-produced medicin es to gain a 50% share in the total of medicines reimbursed by the budget. A t present, imported medicines, which are more expensive, constitute 72% of a ll subsidized medicines. By bringing this ratio down to 50%, the government estimates that it could save as much as zl. 1.4 billion. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p . 26) T.J.