Actavis not affected by Iceland’s financial collapse
Charlot Zahra
The global financial crisis has brought tiny island-nation Iceland to the brink of economic collapse, with the Government taking over the country’s three largest banks last week.
However one of the country’s largest industries, Actavis, which has factories in 40 countries across the globe, including Malta, said it has not been impacted by the meltdown of the Icelandic economy.
A spokesperson for the company in Reykjavik told Business Today: “Only 1 per cent of Actavis’ revenues are generated in Iceland. The company’s financial support is outside of Iceland and the company’s books are in euro.”
She said that the global financial crisis “does not impact our normal course of business, and we will remain focused on providing quality products to our customers.”
Actavis specialises in the development, manufacturing and sales of generic pharmaceuticals in international markets. The company is present in 40 countries around the globe, and its products are registered in more than 60 countries.
Asked specifically as to how the meltdown of the Icelandic financial system has affected Actavis’ operations and the company’s financial strength, the company spokesperson said: “No, it hasn’t”.
She also reassured that Actavis “has not” lost money as a result of the meltdown of the Icelandic banking system.
Asked specifically as to whether the Malta plant would be affected in any way as a result of any proposed closures or reductions of staff, the Actavis spokesperson was categorical in her reply to Business Today. “The Malta plant will not be affected.
“The Malta facility, through its 400 highly talented employees and its continuous improvement philosophy, has become, since 2001, a key contributor to the Actavis group of companies, selling a number of branded generics as well as other generic pharmaceuticals.
“Additionally, the favourable patent environment as well as the strong technical infrastructure on the island has helped in no small measure the facility’s rapid growth.
“The facility is built to meet the highly regulated and competitive EU market, with compliance to the European stringent standards. Malta also hosts one of Actavis’ key development centres,” the Actavis spokesperson told Business Today.
Headquartered in Iceland, Actavis has 11,000 employees operating in around 40 countries around the globe. The company has modern development and manufacturing facilities in Europe, the United States and Asia.
The plants produce a variety of medicines in different formulations including tablets, capsules, injectables, suppositories, sprays, steriles, powders, oral liquids and semi-solids.
Actavis also invests heavily in research and development – with three sites in Denmark, Iceland and Malta – pursuing a determined first-to-market strategy and positioning itself to take full advantage of future opportunities.
The pharmaceutics plant at Zejtun was originally established as Pharmamed Limited in 1973. In 2001, Pharmamed was taken over by Delta, which was later merged into Pharmaco, which changed its name to Actavis in May 2004.
In July last year, the well-established pharmaceutical firm, which was established in 1956, was taken over by Novator, the Icelandic investment firm led by Actavis Chairman Thor Bjorgolfsson.
