Sanofi unveils EUROAPI as name of new API company
Sanofi has unveiled EUROAPI as the name of its new European active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) company. Additionally, the firm has appointed Karl Rotthier as its future CEO.
According to Sanofi, the new company stands to be the largest API organization in the European Union, with projected sales of approximately €1b ($1.2b USD) by 2022. Additionally, the parent company anticipates EUROAPI will rank first on the continent in small-molecule APIs and second in the global API market.
With concerns about medicine shortages and supply-chain continuity on the rise, EUROAPI leaders reportedly will work toward ensuring additional API capacities for markets in Europe and the rest of the globe, decreasing dependency on APIs sourced from other regions. New CEO Rotthier will be charged with overseeing establishment and growth of the new firm; he most recently served as CEO of Centrient Pharmaceuticals.
Philippe Luscan, executive vice president of global industrial affairs with Sanofi, said company leaders are optimistic about the future of the new API company.
“Sanofi is fully committed to the new company’s success, including by establishing a long-term customer relationship with EUROAPI and holding a minority stake of approximately 30% in it,” Luscan said. “To provide the optimal conditions for success, Sanofi intends the new company to be debt free in order to maximize its future investment capacities.”
Rotthier, an industry veteran with nearly three decades of experience under his belt, said, “I am particularly delighted to join EUROAPI and look forward to working with my colleagues in creating an agile, stand-alone company, able to unlock its growth potential in a market sustainably growing at a pace of 6% per year. Building on a strong industrial legacy built over decades and broad expertise and experience, EUROAPI would help secure a greater stability in supplying quality drugs to millions of patients worldwide.”
Initially announced by Sanofi in February 2021, EUROAPI involves creation of a standalone company, which will combine Sanofi’s API commercial and development activities with six of its European production sites: Brindisi in Italy, Frankfurt Chemistry in Germany, Haverhill (UK), St Aubin les Elbeuf (France), Újpest (Hungary) and Vertolaye (France).
According to the firm, EUROAPI will offer a range of significant competitive strengths, such as a broad portfolio of 200 APIs with both volume and niche products, high standards of quality and industrial means, competitive pricing and technologies across Europe. Additionally, it will feature a commercial network covering more than 80 countries across the globe.
