Grindeks opens Latvian API plant & eyes finished dosages

Construction of the €8.94m active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) facility in Riga, Latvia began in 2009 following collaboration between Grindeks and Germany-based Marenis Pharma. The plant is now completed and will begin boosting API business at Grindeks and adding to Latvia's growing export portfolio.

“Now, when Latvia has exceeded pre-crisis export volumes, it is very important to be able to find new products and niches, new markets and directions for further export growth​”, said Valdis Dombrovskis, Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia. The European Union gave Grindeks €3.9m towards construction of the plant.

Adding production capacity for ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), an API used in the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis, furthers Latvia's exports ambitions. Grindeks says demand for UDCA is growing, with 400t a year now produced, and by 2014 it aims to have captured 15 per cent of the market.

For now Grindeks has hired 35 people to work at the plant, which uses an automatic management system to regulate production processes, control the microclimate and support the work of engineering systems.

Finished dosage ambitions​

By 2014 Grindeks plans to have moved into UDCA-based finished dosage forms. A two to three year plan has been created for the development and registration of the final dosage form. Entering the finished dosage forms market could add a further €10m in sales, claims Grindeks.

Vertical integration of manufacturing, bringing together API and finished dosage capabilities, is a strategic priority at Grindeks. Finished dosage forms account for the bulk of sales at Grindeks and generated revenues of €81.4m in fiscal 2010, up almost 20 per cent year-on-year. Russia and Georgia are key markets for Grindeks.