Olainfarm/Jucker to supply Novartis

Latvian drugmaker Olainfarm says that, along with its Swiss partner Jucker Pharma, it will supply chemical intermediates worth around 1.17 million euros ($1.5 million) to Novartis. The company noted that it will begin shipments of the intermediates in February, sending them directly to Novartis' UK operation, in Grimsby.

Olainfarm explained that the deal builds on its six-year relationship with Novartis which, it added, had seen the value of the latter's orders increase five-fold over its lifetime. The firm said that, according to unaudited financial statements made by its parent company JSC Olainfarm, its total sales for 2006 increased 34% to 12.54 million lats ($23.1 million), compared with its recorded turnover for the full year 2005.

The group added that its exports, which accounted for 81% of its revenues in 2006, had seen expansion in Russia, the UK, Ukraine, Norway and Belarus.