Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited and Terapia S.A. of Romania recently announced that they have signed a definitive agreement providing for the acquisition of Terapia by Ranbaxy. The deal will combine the strengths of the two generic companies and will allow Ranbaxy to leverage its expanded base in the rapidly growing Romanian pharmaceutical market, across the European Union and the CIS markets.
Romania is the fastest growing pharmaceutical market in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region, with an approximate annual growth of 34 percent from 2002 to 2005 versus the growth of 24 percent for the region. The high growth is coupled with a large market opportunity, as Romania is the second largest country by population in CEE. Romania, today is amongst the countries with an increasing per capita expenditure on pharmaceuticals. This provides significant head-room for the company to grow. Romania is also scheduled to join the European Union beginning January 1, 2007, opening up additional possibilities for market expansion. Since establishment of its operations, Romania has been one of the group’s fastest growing markets.