Teva: Romania is a priority within the group

Teva, leader of the global generics market, targets a 60% turnover growth rate this year, to 16m euros, and a 25% increase in 2009, as part of the aggressive strategy the Israeli group is preparing for Romania.
“For Teva, Romania has become a priority, both in terms of the size and trend of the Romanian pharmaceutical market, and owing to the opportunities arising from its EU integration. This year, we’ve gone through a period of internal reorganisation, both domestically and internationally, with Teva Romania being affiliated to Teva Europe and not to Teva International as it had been before,” said Dana Stanciulescu, country manager of Teva Pharmaceuticals.
In 2006, Teva opened an office domestically, which turned into a SRL (limited liability company) on September 1, an important move for drug producers as foreign currency risks are this way assumed and commercial relationships with distributors are carried on through the domestic entity and not directly with the parent company.
“Any country joining the EU provides different opportunities. Teva arrived later in Romania and after two and a half years we cannot be compared with other countries where we opened offices or subsidiaries 10-15 years ago”.
Internationally, Teva holds a strong position in areas such as oncology, cardiology, diabetes and the central nervous system. “In Romania, we could not bring along our entire portfolio because of the national procedures that applied until EU integration.
After January 1, 2007, Romania has embraced almost all European procedures and as they are put into practice, our portfolio will also expand,” says Stanciulescu.
In the first six months of this year, Teva posted sales worth 8m euros, of a total value of around 16m euros budgeted for this year. This year’s 60% growth comes both from the development of existing products and from new products.
“In terms of portfolio expansion, in Q1 we brought 3 new molecules and we’ll bring another 6 new molecules in 13 presentations in Q2. By yearend, Teva will have 28 molecules in 65 presentations,” says Stanciulescu.
In the next five years, Teva wants to gain a position among the top 3-5 companies on the generics market. At present, the company holds 1% of the entire pharmaceuticals market, which means the Israeli producer is not among the top 20.
In the following period, Teva also plans to expand its sales team, which now includes 40 people out of a total 61 employees in the domestic subsidiary. For one of the main product categories – oncology drugs, Teva expects 8-10m dollar sales in Romania.
Another area where Teva will launch products is that of cardiovascular drugs.
Teva is headquartered in Israel and in Q2 registered global sales worth 2.82bn dollars, up 18% against the same period in 2007.

Teva Romania
Aims for 60% turnover growth this year and plans to reach 16m euros and for a 25% increase in 2009
In 2006, Teva opened an office domestically, which turned into an limited liability company on September 1
In the first 6 months of this year, Teva posted 8m-euro sales, out of the total value of around 16m euros budgeted for this year
In the next 5 years, Teva wants to gain a position among the top 3-5 companies on the generics market