The Romanian industry was historically marked by the communist influence. Consequently, the country got specialized in the heavy industry because it had an abundance of natural and energy resources on which Romania founded its industry. Romania used to be an industrially strong country in the fields of steel and chemistry, but today the energy sector is declining and it is time to think of new ideas to boost the economy. Thereby the government decided to stimulate a sector that was in the past very successful but was after a while put aside: the pharmaceutical industry.
An industry based on foreign investments
The country is in a top position concerning industrial productions in Europe and managed to find its way through the economical crisis, but this became possible thanks to many foreign investments in the sectors of electronics and consumption goods. Romania’s economy was sinking because the country did not adapt to the market demand. Therefore, a specialization in a precise industrial sector as the pharmaceutical industrial allows the creation of new opportunities to collect more investments. Twenty two production sites can be listed so fat and in 2011 the government invested the groundbreaking sum of 11 million Euros in the local generic medicine production. End of 2013, the investment stock was estimated to reach two millions and should keep growing in the next coming years. This opportunity even started sounding attractive to French firms specialized in the pharmaceutical industry and services providing, an initiative that was supported by Ubifrance Romania, an organization that organized meetings with local producers to encourage potential partnerships.
Other side of the coin
Romania used to count in the 80-90s a lot of production sites, which international producers took over shortly after, producers who had to claim to obtain the payment of the debts Romania ran up with the main international pharmaceutical laboratories. The debt has reached 243 million Euros and so far, according to the Premier Minister Adrian Nastase, Romania is able to pay only the half of it. Romania keeps on accumulating delay on the payback of the debt, but also the controversies about the local regulations of the pharmaceutical sector are resulting in a downturn in economic activity. Big companies like the British laboratories GSK even considered closings its production sites. Fortunately, the great number of investors interested in taking over the business allowed many production sites like the one located in Brasov to stay in business, and to maintain hope in the fulfillment of the Romanian development project.
