Pharmaceutical Technologist - January 2008 - (Page 21)

Sutton also made an exclusive distribution agreement with Turkish drugstore chain Farma-Tek in Istanbul, enabling the export of dermatologic products to a market of nearly 100 million people. For the last 8 years, JGL’s revenue growth rate has been approximately 30% per annum, and the company is planning on increasing exports to 50% of total sales during the next 5 years. Throughout 2007, it developed several new products and was one of the first European pharmaceutical companies to receive 22000:2005 certification, which covers the safety management system of food supplements. A fourth significant facility is the Institute of Immunology in Zagreb, which dates back to 1893 when it was established (then named the Royal Institute) for the production of small-pox vaccine. Today, it is Croatia’s largest producer of plasma products, allergens, antisera, and viral and bacterial vaccines. Some of the institute’s ongoing R&D projects include: • The mechanism of immunoreactions and immunomodulation. • The relationship between psychotrauma and changes in immune and endocrinologic system in Croatian soldiers. • The preparations and properties of novel immunomodulators. • Protocols for purification and concentration of some vaccine virus strains by using connective interaction media products. The institute has also conducted international projects, including a collaboration with Merck Sharp & Dohme (NJ, USA) to examine the effect of montelukast on cytokine secretion in children with bronchial asthma. In addition to the above mentioned companies, Croatia is home to more than 50 international pharmaceutical company sales offices, including Merck, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Aventis, KRKA and La Roche. Developments Current developments within the country are expected to greatly expand the pharmaceutical market. The government has implemented a Science and Technology Policy for 2006–2010 to stimulate scientific excellence and innovation, enable the transfer of knowledge and results to industries and businesses, and repatriate Croatian scientists living abroad. Figure 4 The overall market share of top pharmaceutical companies in Croatia. Aventis 3% Abbott 3% Novo Nordisk 4% Pliva 19% Roche 4% GSK 6% Pfizer 6% Belupo 12% MSD 6% Source: Pilva, Belupo Krka 7% In November 2005, a private–public partnership between Biotehnoloski Park Varazdin, a company set up by the Swiss-based Midia Group, and the city of Varazdin was formed to jointly develop a life sciences and technology park — Varazdin Park. Set to become a centre for excellence in the European life sciences and biotechnology industry, the park will offer fully serviced plots capable of accommodating large manufacturing and production buildings, as well as smaller offices or laboratory facilities. Construction will begin this year and future occupants will be able to take advantage of benefits made available by the developer, the city of Varazdin and the Republic of Croatia, including an internationally experienced development team, investment incentives and state-of-the-art facilities with extensive business support services. Additionally, the park will offer an extremely good quality of life and unrestricted repatriation of profits and capital. Another current development is the Biosciences Technology Commercialization and Incubation Centre (BIOCentre), which is a project initiated by the Business Innovation Centre of Croatia (BICRO Ltd.) in partnership with the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, the University of Zagreb, and the city of Zagreb. The BIOCentre will be a specialized technology transfer, business incubation facility and programme in biosciences. It will address the needs of support in: • infrastructure • incubation • technology transfer • education/training • network. The main focus group of the centre will be start-up companies in biotechnology and life sciences, but the facility and its services will also be offered to existing companies, as well as national and international research institutions for the implementation of innovative projects with a significant commercial potential. The centre will also offer a range of specialized business services, including business development assistance and www.ptemagazine.com 21 http://www.ptemagazine.com

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Pharmaceutical Technologist - January 2008 Contents Editor's Comment News Morpheus Market Watch Lagging Japanese Drug R&D Croatia’s Innovation Integrating PAT with Biopharmaceutical Development and Manufacture Q&A

Pharmaceutical Technologist - January 2008

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