Giant A&D Pharma taps into private clinics market

A&D Pharma, the largest pharmaceutical group on the Romanian market, with 364.6 million euros in turnover in the first nine months of last year, will enter the private clinics market through Anima Medical Services SRL, according to a company release. The private clinics market is estimated to be worth around 400 million euros, being one of the few sectors that continue to grow and generate profits.
“A&D Pharma confirms its interest for the medical services market and is currently recruiting doctors and nurses for a future provider of medical services,” said company representatives. The group has published recruitment ads for doctor positions “for a medical clinic in Bucharest” on specialised websites.
This will make A&D Pharma the second company in the drug industry to expand onto this segment, after the investment of Polisano, controlled by doctor Ilie Vonica, in private clinics, in vitro fertilisation centres and dialysis centres. However, the founders of A&D Pharma are not completely new at the foreign medical services sector, where they have been controlling the Diagnosis Medical Centre, through investment fund Gemisa Investments, since as early as in 2007.
A&D Pharma’s activity has so far focused on the drug business, through the development of three divisions. The most visible one is Sensiblu drugstore chain, which operates an around 220-store network, and which saw the highest rise within the group, of 41% in RON (22% in euros) in the first nine months of 2009. The biggest division is the distribution one, Mediplus, but there is also a sales & marketing company.
A&D Pharma has been listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange since 2006, with the latest transactions being concluded at 3.6 euros/GDR, which amounts to a capitalisation of 120 million euros.
The controlling interest of A&D Pharma is held by businessmen Walid Abboud, Ludovic Robert, and Roger Akoury.
A minority stake is held by the managers, and the rest is traded on the Stock Exchange. The group employs around 3,000 people.