Pharmaceutical Industry
- The value of sector’s annual production is €308.mill.
- Annual growth of the sector in 2004 was 15%
- Comprised of 49 companies (production of pharmaceutical products)
- Intensive R&D and drug discovery
Serbian pharmaceutical companies have strategically positioned themselves to take advantage of the generic drugs trends. Many of these companies have invested substantial capital into R&D and are capable of producing quality low–cost generic drugs. If in–house manufacturing capacities, want to outsource small–batch production, reduce manufacturing costs, or delay/avoid capital investments in manufacturing, they should consider manufacturing in Serbia.
Significantly lower labor and utility costs in comparison to major FDI recipients in Central and Eastern Europe safeguard excellent prospects of reaching targeted profitability. The average monthly salary of the industry in 2004 was €326.
The pharmaceutical industry is the one with the best qualification structure of all industries in Serbia. The number of college and university graduates as percentage of total number of employees in the sector is around 30%. Moreover, medical universities produce close to a thousand university graduates annually. This creates an excellent base for recruitment of an educated workforce. Market Potential Decades of presence in the Russian market has built trust and loyalty towards Serbian drugs and pharmaceuticals. Serbia enjoys an FTA with the Russian Federation which applies to almost all drugs and medical devices. Furthermore, based on the free trade agreements signed with other South East European countries, a producer is entitled to market its goods to a 60 million people market customs free.
Most of the manufacturers within the sector comply with the ISO 9000 quality system. Some of them acquired ISO 14000 certificate, while the leaders of the industry comply with GMP, GLP and GCP.
