Lek's business centre for South-Eastern Europe just opened
A modern business centre for the entire South-Eastern Europe – Drugs of Lek’s own production – Lek’s investment amounts to SIT 674 million
Skopje, 15 May – Lek, a Slovene pharmaceutical company, opened today a new business centre for the South-Eastern Europe in Skopje, Macedonia. This is one of Lek’s recent major investments. It will contribute to the consolidation of Lek’s marketing position in this area. In the modern business centre which also encompasses production capacities, Lek is planning a 15% sales growth over the next 5 years.
Lek is operating as an international company, marketing its products in more than 8o markets. In pursuit of its strategy, Lek is strengthening its position in certain key markets with its increasingly strong marketing, sales and manufacturing presence.
In 1991, the Lek pharmaceutical company registered the company Lek Skopje as the first company of this kind in the Republic of Macedonia. By establishing and maintaining good professional long-term relations with its business partners, Lek Skopje managed to take up a key marketing position, as together with a domestic pharmaceutical manufacturer it ranks among the top pharmaceutical companies in this country. For several years, marketing and sales of Lek products in the Macedonian market have been the company’s major activities.
In view of improving its supply and services for the customer and to offer the patients without much delay the most up-to-date drugs of its own production, Lek adopted a decision to build in Macedonia a business centre with a sales, marketing and production function. The products coming from the Skopje centre will be intended not only for the domestic Macedonian market, but also for other parts of the South Eastern Europe, mostly for Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Albania, Kosovo, Rumania and, at a later stage, Greece.
In addition to the most recently developed drugs, the production programme will include OTC products (Lek’s self-medication drugs). In future, Lek will expand its activities to marketing diagnostic products and cosmetics.
For the quality assurance of its products and for its maintenance, Lek Skopje adopted the same standards as Lek d.d. Consequently, the facilities built and the manufacture conform to the international GMP (good manufacturing practice), GLP (good laboratory practice) and GCP (good clinical practice) standards, and the ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 systems of quality will also be established.
The foundation stone of the new business centre of Lek Skopje was laid in September 1998, whereas in May 2000 Lek obtained a certificate of operation for the new facility.
Lek’s investment into this facility measuring gross 2551 m2, was SIT 674 million, while of great importance for the project is a transfer of domestic know-how into the manufacture of the most advanced drugs (Amlopin, Amoksiklav).
For the next five years, Lek Skopje is planning a 15% sales growth. Within 3 to 5 years, it will recruit 53 employees, mainly those with university education.
“With its new business centre for the South Eastern Europe, Lek is confirming its strategy of approaching its key markets as close as possible. We are convinced that Lek’s presence will consolidate the co-operation between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Slovenia and that we shall manage to prove the long range of our concepts, " said the President of Lek’s Board of Management, Mr. Metod Dragonja.
The new Lek business centre for the South Eastern Europe was inaugurated by the president of Macedonia, Mr. Ljubčo Georgievski, and the president of Lek’s Board of Management, Mr. Metod Dragonja, in the presence of Mr. Jožko Čuk, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia, representatives of the Macedonian government and the diplomatic corps, and representatives of some Slovene companies.