Biotika To Appeal Sale Of 40% Stake

Slovak pharmaceutical company Biotika is to appeal against the sale of 40.6% of its shares to G V Pharma (Marketletter April 1), which Biotika says is "closely linked to our rival."

Evidence has emerged, according to local reports, that G V Pharma, which was previously unknown, may have close ties to Slovakofarma. It is thought that G V Pharma's supervisory board was headed by Slovakofarma general director Ondrej Gattnar, and that other Slovakofarma staff were board members of G V.

There has been no comment from Slovakofarma, and the state privatization agency, the NPF, has refused to comment on the matter. Union leaders are calling for a revision of the sale. Shares in Biotika are reported by the CTK news agency to have risen 8.7% in late March.