Aventis Pharma expects solid pharmaceutical sales in 2001

JAKARTA (JP): PT Aventis Pharma, a pharmaceuticals producer partly owned by Frankfurt-based Aventis Pharma AG, remains bullish on the country's market despite fears of further worsening in the country's economy.

Aventis Pharma's president Hagen Dahms said here on Friday that the company's sales rose by 20 percent during the first quarter this year although demand had yet to return to its pre- crisis level in 1997.

He said that Aventis' total sales would be about Rp 400 billion this year, or an increase of 14 percent over the previous year

Dahms attributed the significant growth in the first quarter to sales of its six new products such as Lovenox for cardiovascular cure, and Taxotere and Campto for cancer medication.

Aventis Pharma is a new company that resulted from the merger of PT Hoechst Marion Roussel Indonesia and PT Rhone-Poulenc Rorer last month, following a similar merger between two giants -- Hoechst AG and Rhone-Poulenc SA.

With the merger, Hoechst Marion Roussel Indonesia and Rhone- Poulenc Rorer were dissolved and all their production activities taken over by Aventis.

"The name of the products remain unchanged for the convenience of our customers," Dahms said.

Dahms said that the outlook for the local pharmaceutical industry would be much better this year unless the political situation worsened.

Dahms said the country's overall prescription drug market size was predicted to grow by 20 percent to Rp 6.7 trillion ($600 million) this year due to growing demand in the domestic market.

The country's prescription drugs market stood at $500 million last year, Dahms explained.

He said that Aventis' sales made up about seven percent of the total pharmaceutical market.

Aventis sells around 50 different kinds of prescribed drugs and vaccines. Around 90 percent of Aventis' drugs are for the domestic market, while the remaining 10 percent are destined to be exported. (03)