Brno division of Pliva Lachema to cease production

2009-10-01

The Czech pharmaceutical company Pliva-Lachema, currently owned by Teva, is planning to close its medicine manufacturing division in Brno, in the Czech Republic, at the end of 2009.
Pliva-Lachema became part of Teva after the latter company acquired the American drug producer Barr with its European branch, Pliva. In February this year Teva and Pliva-Lachema started a process aimed at increasing the efficiency and profitability of Lachema, which was expected to be achieved either by selling Lachema to a new investor or by terminating its operations. Teva was able to find an investor willing to purchase only part of Lachema, the division which manufactures diagnostic products. As a result, the site which manufactures active substances and medicines will be closed, leaving around 400 people jobless.
The Czech news agency, the CTK, reports that around 50 of the 400 company employees will find a new job with Teva’s branch in Opava, the second largest manufacturing complex in Central and Eastern Europe, which is now being expanded.
For those who do not find employment at the Opava manufacturing site, Teva has prepared retraining programmes and a set of measures aimed at helping to find new jobs for the former employees.