South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare to grow PHL business volume to P1B

South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. plans to double its business volume in the Philippines to P1 billion from P500 million before 2013 is out.

 

Bonifacio Global City-based Aspen Philippines, the South African company’s Philippine unit, was established only six months ago in October with an initial investment of P300 million. It started commercial operations last January with four employees, and now has nearly 100 Filipino workers.   

 

"This business initiative of opening our office in the Philippines forms part of Aspen's stated global expansion strategy into emerging and established markets," Aspen Group CEO Stephen Saad said Wednesday at the media launch of Aspen Philippines in Makati City.

 

Aspen Philippines is the first Asian subsidiary of Aspen Pharmacare.

 

"We hope the Philippine expansion would also result in more employment opportunities for a number of Filipinos," Ace Itchon, Aspen Philippines president and CEO, said at the same event. She said the company is planning to hire more this year.

 

Established in October 2011, Aspen Philippines, located in Bonifacio Global City, is the latest member of the Aspen Group. It commenced operations in January 2012 with only four employees and initial investment of P300 million. Two months later, the company now employs close to 100 Filipinos.

 

"As a trusted pharmaceutical company, Aspen is committed to positively impacting people's lives by providing Filipino healthcare providers and consumers with effective and safe medicines that are within the means of the ordinary Filipino," Itchon said.

 

Aspen Philippines distributes antibiotics and antihypertensive, antigout, antiplatelet, and antihypothyroidism medications made in Italy, Germany and South Africa.

 

To ensure the availability of Aspen products in the market, Aspen Philippines forged a distribution deal with Zuellig Pharma Corp., a healthcare distribution specialist in the Asia-Pacific region.

 

Aspen Group looks forward to working closely with Philippine authorities in providing quality products to meet the healthcare needs of Filipinos, Saad said.

 

Aspen Asia Co. Ltd. director for markets Keith Kai Cheung Iu noted there are no plans yet to establish a Philippine manufacturing facility. "Our focus now is in the area of distribution," Iu said. 

 

But putting up a local manufacturing facility is not a remote possibility, he added.

 

Aspen is Africa's largest pharmaceutical manufacturer and the biggest pharmaceutical group in the healthcare sector listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. —VS, GMA News