Pliva, the largest and most well-known Croatian pharmaceutical company, will no longer develop active pharmaceutical ingredients for new generic drugs in Zagreb. This decision was made by the owner of Pliva, the Israeli company Teva, which has decided to close Pliva’s research institute in Črnomerec, Zagreb, specifically the TAPI R&D organizational unit, effective May 1. According to unofficial information obtained by Lider, around 130 people have already been laid off. Some of them will remain at Pliva, while a smaller portion will leave the company with severance packages, as confirmed by several well-informed sources, including Pliva itself.
TAPI is a global organization of Teva, and Teva’s management had previously announced that it would sell the entire department to redistribute financial resources into other business segments, such as innovative and generic drugs. The reason for the sale is that revenues from the sale of active ingredients are declining globally, and the new CEO, Richard Francis, has committed to developing a business that brings growth. This is part of a strategy called Turnaround to Growth. Both foreign and Croatian media have already reported announcements about the sale of Teva’s research divisions, and this is a direct consequence of such corporate announcements in our territory.
The majority of TAPI’s facilities are located in Europe, some, like those in Italy, have already been sold, and while Teva seeks a new owner for the entire business, it is known that a ‘groom’ may be sought with a magnifying glass due to low profit margins and fierce competition in the sector of generic drug ingredient production. Given that Israel is currently in conflict with Hamas, it is difficult to even speculate on what will happen and whether someone will be willing to pay Teva two billion dollars for that division, which is the amount speculated that the owner will seek.
What is known so far about the closure of the Zagreb TAPI is that around 130 layoffs have been made and that the majority of those leaving TAPI have been offered the opportunity to transition to a new unit within Pliva, and it can be concluded that they will continue to work in the Center of Excellence for Research and Development of Small Molecules. The remaining 30 or so people have reportedly decided to leave with severance packages. Naturally, the layoffs have been met with great discomfort within the company, and speculation has immediately begun, especially in light of geopolitical events, whether Pliva is facing a new wave of layoffs. We asked the unions about this, and they unanimously stated that there is no reason for concern.
