PIERRE FABRE RESTRUCTURES ITALIAN PHARMA SUBSIDIARY

The French pharmaceuticals and dermatological group Pierre Fabre, faced with debts and a less buoyant market, is entering a phase of consolidation after a period of acquisitions in recent years. The company has now started an in-depth reorganization of its Italian company, Pierre Fabre Pharma.

The Italian drug firm was told recently that its main product, the immunostimulant Leucotrofina, would no longer be reimbursed by the Italian health service. As a result, sales fell by 83%. Fabre has already cut jobs from 260 to 150, and has decided to close one of its Milan plants. It now hopes to relaunch the company with the help of new products, especially an anticancer agent.

Fabre is also preparing moves in France to reduce costs and indebtedness. Between now and 1996, the Mazamet and Lambert plants in the Tarn region, employing about 140 people, will be given up, while the Gien plant in the Loiret region will be retained. The Gien site was acquired from Rhone-Poulenc in 1991, and is now set to become the company's main drug production unit.