The Russian market is crucial for Croatian pharmaceutical company Jadran Galenski Laboratorij (JGL), as it earns 40% of its revenue in the country, the chairman of the company’s board Ivo Usmiani said during a visit by Russian Ambassador Anvar Azimov to that Rijeka-based firm, Total Croatia News reports.
At the event on Monday, Usmiani also said the company is the second-largest Croatian business in Russia.
Ambassador Azimov toured JGL units, talking with his hosts about the company’s operations, markets, and problems related to business operations in Russia.
JGL specializes in the development and production of sterile products with added value in ophthalmology and otolaryngology.
Company officials say that the company is present in 50 countries but that the Russian market is its biggest and most important market. They see Russia as a partner and build their business story in Russia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and almost all former Soviet republics.
JGL employs 205 people in Russia, and its best-selling products are nasal decongestants, skincare products, products against travel nausea and eye drops.
Russian distributors annually buy JGL products worth around 3 billion roubles, Usmiani said, stressing that the company “had never come across a closed door in Russia”.
“JGL has not felt the consequences of sanctions against Russia or problems between the EU and Russia and the biggest uncertainty is whether on January 1 the serialization of pharmaceutical products will go into force on the Russian market,” the chairman said.
In that case, the Croatian company will have to change its product packaging to meet new drug registration implemented in the Eurasian Union (EAEU).
