The Prague Post
http://www.aaaradiotaxi.cz/index.php?xSET=lang&xLANG=2
September 7th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Prague accommodation
Prague Art & Antiques Prague Art Prague Antiques

Home » Archives » Business

Teva to expand pharma plant

Investment is expected to expand drug maker's production threefold

By Michael Heitmann
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
March 12th, 2008 issue

Ivax Pharmaceuticals, a member of Israel’s Teva group, is expected to triple drug production at its facility in north Moravia in what is the largest Israeli investment in the Czech Republic.
Ivax will see more than 1 billion Kč ($60.7 million) in investment from Teva, allowing a major expansion at Ivax’s base in Opava, said spokeswoman Karin Martínková.
The deal’s announcement came March 10 while Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek was in Jerusalem to meet with his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Olmert. The prime ministers also agreed to establish a joint Czech-Israeli research and development fund, which will focus on biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and anti-terrorism weaponry.
Teva announced the investment during Topolánek’s tour of the pharmaceutical’s Jerusalem plant.
Teva, which is the world’s largest maker of generic drugs, will create 400 new jobs in the Czech Republic, Topolánek said. The Opava plant has 800 employees, representing a large portion of Teva’s work force in Central and Eastern Europe. In total, the company employs 28,000 people worldwide.
Ivax’s sales rose by 512 million Kč last year, reaching 4.7 billion Kč, according to the Commercial Register.
Zentiva, one of Teva’s primary rivals in the Czech Republic, was unimpressed by the size of the Israeli investment.
“We welcome any kind of investment in the Czech Republic, but it’s not a breathtaking amount,” said Zentiva general director Jiří Michal.
Zentiva invested half a billion crowns into domestic production last year, with total investments reaching 1.5 billion Kč, he said.
Zentiva, which is the largest domestic maker of generic drugs, released its 2007 results March 10.
The company’s profits slumped 36 percent to 1.4 billion Kč on sales of 16.67 billion Kč, a 19 percent increase. Zentiva holds a 10.6 percent share of the Czech drug market, the company said.
Meanwhile, most of the drugs made by Ivax go to Western Europe and the United States. Teva’s Czech subsidiary manufactures a broad range of pharmaceuticals, including copycat generic products, nonprescription drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients and plant extracts.
Further details of the Teva investment will be announced by Industry and Trade Minister Martin Říman March 14, the government said.
The Ivax announcement comes as, a week earlier, Teva unveiled plans to invest 65 million euros ($98.8 million/1.6 billion Kč) at an Ivax plant in Ireland.  
The Israeli company shook up the generic drug business in 2005 when it bought its U.S. rival, Ivax, for $7.6 billion, putting pressure on other generic drug makers to consolidate their operations.

Michael Heitmann can be reached at mheitmann@praguepost.com


Other articles in Business (12/03/2008):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.