EXPANSION AT SILESIA IN CHILE

The Chilean pharmaceutical comp-any Silesia is continuing to expand at is base in Santiago. The company its currently working on the plans for a new plant and hopes to start construction in October this year.

The company was founded in 1948 by the father of the current president, Leopoldo Drexler Glaesser. Since 1985 the company has experienced a period of dynamic growth, increasing its ranking according to medical prescriptions from 33 in 1984, the year that Dr Drexler became general manager and president, to 16 in 1985, and then to 12 in 1991. According to the ranking of the national pharmaceutical companies compiled by the national and Latin American pharmaceutical companies' trade association, ASILFA, Silesia was fifth according to value and sixth according to units in 1991.

Overseas Partner Sought Dr Drexler, who recently became president of ASILFA (Marketletter March 23), told the Marketletter in a recent interview that his company is currently looking for further partners in the USA and in Europe. Dr Drexler is also keen for the company to strike up more comarketing agreements, licensing agreements and joint ventures with Japanese companies.