2016 RETROSPECTIVE – Investments in HEALTH CARE which have caused the greatest interest among eKapija users

The investment team of eKapija has performed the analysis and formed the list of investments and investment ideas which caused the greatest interest among our users in 2016. The results are very interesting, some of them expected, though there are lots of surprises as well, which is why we've decided to share the information with you.

We present the most interesting projects in the HEALTH CARE category.

Judging by our latest list, announcements and projections for 2017, we might finally start finding news of supposed better times for Serbian health care a bit more plausible. State officials are talking about 2017 as the year of healthcare, noting that this year's investments will be the largest ones in the past 70 years. Construction of new clinical center facilities, reconstruction of existing ones and construction of new hospitals, clinics and institutes, procurement of new equipment, as well as more money for treating rare diseases have all been announced. In total, EUR 2 billion has been set aside for investments in healthcare in 2017.

The list of the most read stories in the year behind us shows progress in the field of science, as various investments in science, which have been announced for years, are becoming finalized. Private healthcare institutions continue penetrating the market by investing in new facilities and equipment, and the first foreign investor in the field of healthcare arrived to Serbia in 2016. Local pharmaceutical companies were in focus in Serbia, as well as elsewhere in the world, some thanks to their stable market position and expansion of operations, others due to being forced to look for a way to survive.

(Future look of new Merkur facilities in Vrnjacka Banja) The investment of SH Merkur in Vrnjacka Banja proved to be the most interesting to our readers. In early, 2016, the construction of a new hospital started, where guests will be provided with top quality medical service and feel comfortable in a four-star hotel and a luxury spa resort. Its top spot on the list might be a result of a wider story of the privatization of Serbian spas and the importance private capital might have on their development. Whatever the case may be, SH Merkur is an example of healthcare tourism acting as a great driving force of the economy. This hospital has more than 180,000 overnight stays of local and more than 20,000 foreign guests, and the current investments, the reconstruction of Romanija mansion and the construction of a new facility, will increase the capacities by another 75 beds. As they said for eKapija, the new hospital is expected to be completed in the summer of 2017.

The beginning of the construction of the Center of Excellence in Kragujevac, announced as the biggest investment in the field of higher education and medicine in Serbia in the past decades, placed second on the list. The foundation stone was laid down in January 2016, and this unique scientific research institute will encompass six research centers, among which are the Stem Cell Research Center and the Stem Cell Bank. Its construction and equipping is financed by the European Investment Bank with EUR 10 million, whereas the City and the University of Kragujevac are investing EUR 4 million. The future stem cell bank, which will be run by geneticist Miodrag Stojkovic, will store blood cord stem cells, as well as cell material used for treating numerous diseases. The opening of the Center of Excellence has been announced for April 2017.

Next on the list are the works on another capital Serbian healthcare project. The reconstruction of the Clinical Center of Serbia predictably placed among the top three investments in 2016. The reconstruction of the Clinical Center of Serbia has been talked about since 2009 and will finally start in 2017, as the prime minister also announced several days ago, and EUR 122 million will be invested in the project. This year will also see the beginning of the reconstruction of the Clinical Centers of Kragujevac and Novi Sad, whereas the Clinical Center of Nis should take in its first patients two months from now. Let us remind that the tender for reconstruction and extension of the Clinical Center of Serbia opened back in December 2015. As announced at the time, EUR 90 million should be invested in its new building, a 90,000 m2 tower, and 7 companies applied. The Ministry of Health, however, didn't select the best offer at the time. The extension of the clinical centers in Serbia will be financed by the European Investment Bank. The next step is to open a tender for the construction works.

The fourth spot features the private healthcare institution BelMedic, which continued investing in new equipment in 2016. In June, they acquired another modern diagnostic device – a Toshiba magnetic resonance imaging scanner of the latest generation, built in line with the highest radiology standards. In addition to equipment, BelMedic continues expanding in the Serbian market, having recently opened another medical center in Belgrade, at 7 Kneginje Zorke Street in Slavija.

The fifth spot takes us to the world of pharmaceutical industry. Hemofarm continued expanding in Serbia by acquiring local companies, confirming at the same time that Serbia is looking at the period of intensive acquisitions in the pharmaceutical sector, mirroring the current world trend. The company Ivancic i Sinovi has been operating within Hemofarm since mid-2016. In line with the contract signed in August 2016, Hemofarm took over the products, the production facility in Stari Banovci, the employees and the intellectual property and announced that over thirty products of Ivancic i Sinovi will remain in the market under their old names. Several days ago, as eKapija reported exclusively, Hemofarm took over the Belgrade-based wholesale pharmaceutical company Velexfarm.

The first foreign investment in healthcare in Serbia earned the sixth spot on our list. The biggest European chain in the field of radiology, Amsterdam's Affidea, which operates in 14 states of Europe, opened a diagnostics center in Belgrade in late 2016. This is the first foreign diagnostics center in Serbia, in which EUR 4 million has been invested, and Affidea has confirmed that it plans to continue investing in healthcare in Serbia by opening diagnostics centers in Novi Sad, Nis and Kragujevac.

The seventh spot brings us back to Kragujevac, where the construction of the In-virto Fertilization Center began in December 2016. At least 150 couples a year will be able to receive infertility treatment here with the use of modern procedures, and the center will be built on the 340 square meters of the third floor of the gynecological and obstetrics clinic.

This year's list is rounded up by a story from the pharmaceutical sector concerning the ever current question – what will happen to Galenika? The tender for Galenika's strategic partner, which will acquire 25% of ownership in Galenika through a capital increase at the price of at least EUR 7 million, opened on April 4, 2016, and bids were submitted by 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. Negotiation about the strategic partnership with the consortium, the only bidder to submit valid documentation, started on October 24 and were supposed to be completed within 90 days. However, we will have to wait at least until late April to see if the privatization of Galenika will be resolved, as the negotiations have been extended by an additional three months.

Take a look at the complete list of investments in HEALTH CARE and compare it to your thoughts, estimates and projections.

Also, have you seen the list of projects which you've found the most interesting in the INDUSTRY, REAL ESTATE, AGRICULTURE AND FOOD INDUSTRY, TRADE CENTERS, TOURISM, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION, ENERGY and TRANSPORTATION categories?

eKapija.com Beograd

Merkur bolnica za lečenje i rehabilitaciju Vrnjačka Banja

Fakultet medicinskih nauka u Kragujevcu

Grad Kragujevac

Univerzitet u Kragujevcu

Evropska investiciona banka EIB

Klinički centar Srbije Beograd

Univerzitetski klinički centar Niš

Klinički centar Kragujevac

Klinički centar Vojvodine

EBRD Evropska banka za obnovu i razvoj Beograd

ACIBADEM BEL MEDIC Beograd

Hemofarm a.d. Vršac

IIS Pharmaceutical doo Beograd

Velexfarm d.o.o. Beograd

Affidea d.o.o. Beograd

Fondacija Dragice Nikolić Beograd

Galenika a.d. Beograd

Vlada Republike Srbije

eKapija retrospective

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retrospective 2016

retrospective health care

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SH Merkur

reconstruction of Romanija mansion Vrnjacka Banja

health tourism

Center of Excellence Kragujevac

Faculty of Medical Sciences Kragujevac

EIB

European Investment Bank

Stem Cell Research Center Kragujevac

Stem Cell Bank Kragujevac

Miodrag Stojkovic

stem cells

blood cord stem cells

cell material for disease treatment

stem cell treatment

Ministry of health

Clinical Center of Serbia

Clinical Center of Nis

Clinical Center of Kragujevac

Clinical Center of Novi Sad

Clinical Center of Serbia reconstruction

Clinical Center of Nis reconstruction

Clinical Center of Kragujevac reconstruction

Clinical Center of Novi Sad reconstruction

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

EBRD

magnetic resonance imaging

magnetic resonance imaging at BelMedic

radiology

Velexfarm

Affidea Belgrade diagnostics center

Affidea

Clinical Hospital Center Kragujevac

Dragica Nikolic foundation

gynecological and obstetrics clinic Kragujevac

Cadila Pharmaceuticals Limited India

EMS SA Brazil

Frontier Pharma Limited Great Britain

LLC NPA Petrovax Pharm Russia

investments in health care