Romania still core of cancer drug business for Actavis

Claudio Albrecht, CEO of Actavis drug maker, with 1.7bn-euro turnover in 2010, which owns Sindan plant in Romania, says a Swiss or an Austrian would not have the same results as the Romanian team, with Romanians having capacity for improvisation, being intelligent and well-trained.

On the Romanian market, one of the most important in CEE, Actavis expects annual average growth of 15-20% in the following years because it started from a “very small” base.

Last year, Actavis posted 93m-euro sales (including exports) in Romania. In Albrecht’s opinion, the local drug market also has “huge” potential.

The Sindan plant Actavis owns in Bucharest now works at full capacity and is one of the biggest pharmaceutical exporters.

“The more we grow, the more we have to move to Italy (where Actavis owns an cancer drug production facility,” said Albrecht, adding he does not have any plans for a greenfield investment now, but that on long term it remains to be seen whether the plant keeps its current location (in the centre of Bucharest) or not.