Sanacorp Fears Worst From German Reforms

Sanacorp, the German drug wholesaler, has said that the new healthreform legislation in the country, which will come into effect on January 1, will lead to a reduction in sales and lower profits. Juergen Brink, the company's chairman, said that the measures will put the German health sector in the grip of state regulation and affect the quality of drug supply, as well as threatening jobs at the medium-sized drugmakers. Mr Brink went on to say that Sanacorp is attempting to counter these trends by improving internal processes and reducing costs.

Sanacorp's sales in the first four months of fiscal 1998-99 rose 13% to 1.2 billion Deutschemarks ($715.6 million), while pretax profits increased 20.3% to 14.2 million marks. Full-year profits are expected to reach some 46 million marks.