British giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), leader of the local pharmaceutical market, which acquired the Europharm plant in Brasov in 1998, will start exports of Paroxetine this year, an antidepressant which will find its way from the Brasov plant to over 80 countries. According to company data, the new product is expected to boost production of the Brasov plant by 50%.
"We have proven that we can produce and we have been chosen to deliver an antidepressant, Paroxetine, to the whole international market. The programme is part of a global strategy to render our operations more efficient, because players on the pharmaceutical market are going through a rather tough period. We are trying to cut back on costs, and one way to do this is to consolidate production. We preferred to choose a cheaper location," said David Lechleiter, Vice-President and General Manager of GlaxoSmithKline Romania.
Currently, the drug is manufactured in France and the UK, with the transfer process to be completed in 2009, when Paroxetine will be produced at full capacity.
"We are currently working on the production lines. We will run some tests, and the first exports will start in the second half of the year. It is a long-running process, which entails terminating production in other states, which is not achieved easily," says the head of GSK Romania.
The investments scheduled to back these exports amount to 2.5 million pounds (3.1 million euros), with 2.2 million packs of Paroxetine estimated to be exported in 2009, and 15 million packs in 2011.
In terms of the volume produced in Brasov, the increase will exceed 50% in the next year.
The main export destinations for Paroxetine will be France, Germany, the UK and Italy, with the drugs manufactured in Brasov to also reach China, India and Brazil. Exports to the US will be produced at a different location.
GSK has already started production of an antibiotic for the Western European market, but deliveries for this drug are small in value. In all, the number of SKUs (stock keeping units - types of products) transferred to Brasov will be around 200.
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