Drugs bring investments

Medochemie Romania, branch of Cyprus-based Medochemie Ltd, will invest $10 million in the construction of a drug factory, according to Rasvan Baltag, company manager.

“In 2000, we bought a 17,000 sqm piece of land in Pipera, Bucharest, where we hope to start building a drug factory this fall, a factory compliant with the strictest of standards. The project will be completed over the next two years, enabling Romania to become a major export centre for Medochemie Ltd,” Medochemie Romania manager was quoted as saying by Mediafax.

Set up in 1995, Medochemie Romania registered $2 million in sales through its 11 direct importers, ranking 11th among the drug importers in Romania. The company’s receipts on the Romanian market in Q1 amounted to $700,000, allowing a $3 million sales forecast for 2001.

According to Medochemie Romania head, the main problems for the drug importers in Romania consist in the poor funding for the healthcare sector, the poor healthcare funds management, the lack of clarity in the reimbursement of healthcare services through the National Health Insurance Network and the Finance Ministry, the delays in the payment of drugs both in hospitals and in the ambulatory network (compensated and free medical prescriptions).

“Emergency Ordinance 36/2001 is the worst of them all, as it stipulates that the drug price is endorsed by the Competition Office in 30 to 45 days. This forces the importer to store the merchandise for 30-45 days, after having paid customs duties and VAT waiting for the Competition Office to endorse a price, although it had been previously calculated by the importer based on a method established by the law,” Rasvan Baltag says.