Indians to produce drugs in Galenika on their own – Cadila planning to replace half of workers with its compatriots

If the Indian pharmaceutical drugs manufacturer Cadila gets selected to be Galenika's strategic partner, Serbia won't prosper much from the cooperation, and the workers in the Zemun factory will fare even worse. As Novosti learns unofficially, the Indians plan to not only halve the number of workers but also to bring Indian workers to replace the Serbian work force, maybe all 700 of them, which is how much they think will be necessary.

The tender for strategic partnership received bids from India's Cadila Pharmaceuticals Limited, Brazil's EMS S.A. and the Consortium of Frontier Pharma Limited from Great Britain and LLC NPA Petrovax Pharm from Russia.

All the companies are world-known in their industry. The British-Russian Consortium is among the ten largest companies when it comes to research and implementation of new drugs and vaccines, whereas the other two don't deal in research, but mostly manufacture.

As Novosti learns, the Indians won't wait for the social programs, but start laying off workers right away. Galenika workers see more hope in the offer by the British-Russian Consortium. They've also announced layoffs, but only if the market demands so.

As the consortium emphasizes in its bid, a social program is being prepared, and the workers who leave Galenika using it may hope to be able to get their jobs back if the production demands it.

– Cadila's bid doesn't specify how many foreigners will work in Galenika. This is why fears that the Indian company will bring nearly all of 700 workers from India and that Serbia will not benefit from the arrangement at all are not unfounded – the Government says.

The biggest problem in reaching an agreement with the Indian company is the danger of Galenika going into bankruptcy before they become capable of entering the Zemun factory. The agreement on debt inactivity made with banks expires in November, and Cadila is asking for three months to enter the factory, which could cause the production and operations to collapse and may even lead to bankruptcy.

Galenika a.d. Beograd

pharmaceutical drug manufacture in Serbia

Cadila Pharmaceuticals Limited India

EMS SA Brazil

Frontier Pharma Limited Great Britain

LLC NPA Petrovax Pharm Russia

pharmaceutical factory Serbia

Galenika bankruptcy

Galenika privatization