British pharma group GSK to close second largest drug factory in Romania

Romanian drug factory Europharm Brasov, the second largest such factory in Romania, will be closed in 2015, its owner, British pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced on Thursday, June 12. GSK initially announced one year ago that it wanted to sell the factory, but no buyer was found. In 2012, the factory had some EUR 104 million in sales, mostly exports, and a net profit of EUR 11 million. The company currently has 236 employees. GSK announced in June 2013 that it wanted to remove the factory in Brasov from its global network, as it had overcapacity for solid oral drugs. The group also said that it couldn’t introduce new product lines in the Brasov factory due to technical limitations. “In the last ten months, GSK conducted a rigorous selling process to ensure that a complete search for potential buyers was made and that each opportunity was carefully reviewed, both for the factory and for its employees. Unfortunately, GSK was not in the position to agree upon a viable solution with none of the interested parties which would ensure jobs for as many employees as possible and for as long as possible, and which would also make sense for GSK’s business,” GSK explained. The group also said that it would fairly treat the employees of the factory and offer them the adequate support by paying them severances as well as supporting them in finding new jobs. The production in Brasov will be moved to other GSK sites in Poland and Spain. The Europharm Brasov factory produces drugs such as Seroxat, which is used in treating depression, Retrovir, for HIV/AIDS, Duact and Sucrets for respiratory diseases, as well as OTC drugs such as Panadol, Coldrex, Parasinus and Marcofen. The factory was set up in 1994 by Romanian entrepreneur Mihai Miron, who sold it to GSK at the end of the 90s. GSK representatives said they will keep some 600 employees in Romania in their pharmaceutical, consumer healthcare and distribution divisions. Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com