“Right now, sales will start per se in Bulgaria alone. For this market, we expect sales to reach some EUR2 million in 2012. In the other countries we will undergo an authorization process, which is lengthy and could take at least a year, a year and a half, depending on the authorization procedures,” said Cristian David, who is a regional manager in charge with Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East within Romastru Trading.
The company was founded in 1994. In 2009 it has started its own brands of medicine, in areas such as oncology, psychiatry and neurology. In addition, over the next two years, the company plans to launch another 55 products.
“At the moment we are prioritizing products, namely we are deciding what we choose from our portfolio for each market. (…) After selection there is the authorization stage,” David said.
He estimates that sales from all the products on the list could reach EUR100 million within three years, starting the moment of product registration.
In addition, aside from its own brands, Romastru is in talks with Romanian companies to expand their distribution to new markets.
The expansion targets countries such as Poland, the Baltic countries, Ukraine but also Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq.
“Basically, expansion reduces the risk generated by developments in Romania. The pharmaceutical industry is affected in Romania by the drastic measures taken over the past six months, including the clawback mechanism and the reference prices,” David said.
He added pharmaceutical companies are also suffering because of the long deadlines on the payment for medicine, which can reach up to 200-270 days, which leads to a need of intense capitalization.
In markets where the company seeks to expand, the payment deadlines are not higher than 60-90 days.
Romastru is part of Lebanese group Pharaon Holding S.A.L.
Shareholders include Roger Boulos Gemayel (14.4%), Philippine Pierre Marie Ioseph Thomas (14.4%), Bota Cristian (4%), Pharaon Holding S.A.L. (52.8%), J.D.F. Holding S.A.L. (14.4%).
(English version by Andrei Circhelan)