Intense activity in pharma
There is intense activity in the Greek pharmaceuticals sector, a testament to its growth potential.
Plans to invest in production, research and development under implementation until 2026 are worth €1.2 billion.
And then there are acquisitions: The latest development in the sector involves Famar, which, for the second time in four years, has changed hands. The formerly struggling company passed from Cyprus-based ECM Partners, to London-based MidEuropa, a private equity company. MidEuropa acquired the vast majority of Famar, leaving current shareholders with limited holdings.
Many of the investing Greek pharmaceuticals are looking outside the capital region: One favored destination is the industrial zone near the southern city of Tripoli, in the Peloponnese. Investment plans there, to the tune of €180 million, have been announced by Demo, Win Medica, part of the Elpen Group, and Faran. The latter will build its own unit producing injectable and biotech drugs.
Both Greek and multinational pharma firms have clawback offset programs, in which the money they have to return to the state, either the National Organization For Healthcare Services (EOPYY), or, directly, to the Health Ministry, is offset by subsidies for productive investments, including R&D. The money available through the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Fund for 2024-25 is €150 million. A total of 40 investment plans worth €230 million were submitted for consideration. Proposed spending is equally divided between production expansion and R&D.
Representatives of pharma firms told Kathimerini that the clawback offset incentives were a good solution, but added that the incentives must become permanent.
Greek pharmaceuticals are also active in acquisition. Last November, Pharmathen announced it was buying CBL Patras, a company specializing in high-tech peptides, short protein chains used to regulate important body functions such as digestion, hunger and hormone regulation, for €103.7 million.
