-- New name completes successful integration process -- Additional investment expected to build platform for future growth
REYKJAVIK, Iceland, April 26, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Actavis Group (ICEX:ACT), the international generic pharmaceuticals company, today announced that Sindan, the leading European generic pharmaceutical company specializing in the manufacturing and distribution of oncology products, will be rebranded as Actavis with immediate effect. This follows Actavis' acquisition of Sindan in March 2006 and the completed integration of the business.
Since its acquisition by Actavis, Sindan has continued to experience strong growth. The business generated revenues of EUR95 million in 2006 and expectations for 2007 are for sales of EUR115 million.
Actavis is committed to extending its business in Romania and its capabilities in the field of oncology to take further advantage of the fast growing domestic and international market. To achieve that the Group will continue to invest in the oncology business and initial plans are in place to expand Actavis' oncology facilities either through acquisition or new development and build a platform for future growth and create further opportunities for employees.
Actavis has one of the strongest pipelines in the generic industry, with over 355 projects under development, covering all key therapeutic classes. The Company has successfully introduced a number of products from its international portfolio into the Romanian market and had seven product launches in 2006. During 2006, 376 product and market launches were made (163 molecules), out of which 54 were first to market for the Group as a whole. This year, 17 new Actavis products will enter the Romanian market in the retail segment, covering central nervous system, cardiovascular and anti-infective therapeutic classes and OTC products. The Romanian division is expecting a 30% growth in exports by the end of 2007, which represents the Group's strong oncology portfolio.
The name Actavis is derived from two Latin words "acta" meaning action and "vis" meaning strength. The name reflects Actavis commitment to being a dynamic, fast growing company with a global reach and one of the broadest product pipelines. Sindan will become formally known as Actavis Romania and the existing management team, led by Laurentiu Scheusan, will continue to be actively involved in the business.
At a formal launch ceremony held in Bucharest, Romania, Robert Wessman, President and CEO of Actavis, Jonas Tryggvason, Executive Vice President of Central-Eastern Europe and Asia (CEEA), Sales & Marketing Division and Laurentiu Scheusan, Country Manager, Romania were present.
Commenting, Robert Wessman, President and CEO of Actavis said: "Our acquisition of Sindan has been a huge success. The formal introduction of the Actavis name into the Romanian market is the final step in the integration process but just the beginning of the next stage in our development and investment in this exciting environment. We have a solid platform from which to achieve further growth and take our Romanian business to the next stage."
About Sindan
Founded in 1992, Sindan is headquartered in Bucharest, Romania, and currently employs 280 people across the country. The Company is one of Europe's leading manufacturers of generic oncology pharmaceuticals and the largest hospital distributor in the country.
Sindan develops, manufactures and distributes a wide range of solid-dose and injectable generic drugs and is successfully entering a growing number of export markets through its offices in the UK, Poland and Switzerland. Key export markets for Sindan's own developed products currently include the UK, US, Japan, Germany, Italy and Spain. In addition, the Company has traditionally had a leading position in many Central and Eastern European markets and generates sales in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Russia.
About Actavis Group
Actavis is one of the world's leading generic pharmaceutical companies specializing in the development, manufacture and sale of generic pharmaceuticals. Based in Iceland, the company has operations in more than 30 countries, with over 11,000 employees. The Company's market cap is approximately EUR3.0bn (US$3.8 billion) and it's listed on the OMX Exchange in Iceland.
For further information, please visit www.actavis.com.
Information in this press release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Actavis. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forecasts involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from that expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other things, exchange rate fluctuations, the risk that research and development will not yield new products that achieve commercial success, the impact of competition, price controls and price reductions, the risk of loss or expiration of patents or trade marks, difficulties of obtaining and maintaining governmental approvals for products, the risk of substantial product liability claims, exposure to environmental liability.