PM pitches Malta to pharmaceutical industry

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday told the biggest conference of the global generic pharmaceutical industry about the government's intent to establish "a Silicon Valley" of pharmaceutical manufacturing.

"My government is committed to enhance Malta's position as a hub of activity for the manufacturing and assembling of generic pharmaceuticals, as well as a research and development scientific community," he told over 450 participants, attending the 8th annual conference of the International Generic Pharmaceutical Alliance in Malta.

"We look forward to seeing the generic pharmaceutical industry burgeoning in Malta. This will be a mutually beneficial endeavour. We believe that this sector can form the foundation upon which to build a Mediterranean healthcare centre of excellence, supported by research and development and highly recognised healthcare services," Dr Gonzi continued.

Generic medicines have the same active ingredients as brand name drugs but are sold for a lower price. They are identical in dose, strength, safety, efficacy and other properties.

In his opening address, the Prime Minister said Malta enjoyed a sound economic environment where serious entrepreneurs could kick off a business without the risk of being disenchanted.

Malta today hosts more than 200 international companies and over 6,000 international trading companies, he told the conference.

"At present, Malta's strategic position and its membership in the EU provide the best business opportunity to manufacturers of generic pharmaceuticals operating on the island by facilitating promotion, diffusion and penetration of their medicines in North African markets, where there are established trading routes for onward delivery," Dr Gonzi said.

Another competitive advantage was that, due to its confined domestic market, the major pharmaceutical companies had not registered their intellectual property in Malta, providing a unique business opportunity.

An added advantage was the inclusion of the Bolar provision in the Intellectual Property Legislation, which permits manufacturers of generic pharmaceuticals to improve on branded medicines before the relative patent expires.

Moreover, pharmaceuticals companies could benefit from low tax rates, financial and fiscal incentives and logistic advantages, including the availability of ready-built factories, finished to high standards.

The director-general of the European Generic Medicines Association, Grey Perry, said Malta was chosen as the venue for the conference because of the "government's positive attitude to the generics industry, which has encouraged companies to establish themselves on the island, as well as its geographical location and the available facilities of international standards".

It was hoped that the two-day conference at Hilton Malta would generate more global interest for the generics industry in Malta, he said. Additional economic activity for Malta was anticipated as it pursued its goal to establish itself as one of Europe's leading countries for the development and manufacture of generic medicine.

Malta Enterprise chairman Joe Zammit Tabona said the Business Promotion Act classified the pharmaceutical sector as a priority for the country, meaning that companies could qualify for several incentives. The success of Actavis in Malta and the recent setting up of Arrow Pharm, Amino Chemicals and Medichem were the best testimonials for companies looking at Malta for their operations.

Actavis CEO Robert Wessman said that since Pharmamed was bought in 2001, Malta has become the company's key production site in Europe.

"We are about to transfer all the production in other countries down to Malta. Once we continue to increase our production, we will definitely increase the number of staff we have here," he said, adding that Lm50 million have been invested in the island over the last two and a half years and that the number of employees in Malta currently totals 300.

Mr Wessman said Malta was being seen as one of the key locations for production in the long run due to the many "crucial" benefits and incentives it offered, which inspired it to invest all that money.

"When you consider everything, Malta proved to be competitive even compared to India," Mr Wessman said.