NEW TUNISIAN DRUGMAKER LICENSES CANADIAN TECHNOLOGY

Canadian and Tunisian officials have announced that a new Tunisia-based drugmaker, to be known as BioMena, has begun operations. The company was created with the active involvement of Montreal-based drugmaker ProMetic, and will focus on exports of cheap medicines, mainly hepatitis and cancer treatments, within the region and to some European countries. A production unit north of Tunis is to be built by 2006, and company sources hope sales will eventually total some TND200mn (US$163.73mn). The former CEO of the Tunisian unit of French drug major Sanofi-Aventis, Ferid Ben Osman, has been appointed managing director.

The project was initially announced in October 2003, with investment pledged at TND60mn (US$48mn). At the time, plans envisaged a joint venture comprising state drug imports concern Pharmacie Centrale de Tunisie and Institut Pasteur de Tunis. The latter is a research and public health agency associated with the Institut Pasteur of Paris, which was to license some of its drug products to the venture.

Further, ProMetic sources claimed that it would receive around US$30mn over three years from the start of operations, plus royalties of 5% to 10% on BioMena's sales. The company also outlined plans for similar startups in Asia and Latin America.