Plans to establish the new player, which Sanofi expects to be the EU’s largest API producer with sales of around €1 billion, were announced in early 2020 with the intent of the addressing what the Paris-based drugmaker said is “the recently increasing medicine shortages that critically impact patient care.”

EuroAPI, it said, will ensure additional API supply capacities for Europe and beyond, and help balance the industry’s heavy reliance on API sourced from other regions. China and India are the dominant producers.

Six European production sites belonging to Sanofi Active Ingredient Solutions in Brindisi, Italy; Frankfurt, Germany; Haverhill, UK; St Aubin les Elbeuf, France; Újpest, Hungary and Vertolaye, France, will be rolled into the new entity, in which the French phama major plans to hold a 30% stake

The new API specialist is expected to begin operations in 2022, when shares are to be listed on the Euronext Paris, subject to market conditions. Sanofi said the company will have a broad portfolio of both volume and niche products, high standards of quality, competitive pricing, state-of-the-art industrial capabilities and technologies across Europe.

In its announcement, the drugmaker described the 53-year-old Rotthier as a “seasoned leader with a strong API business experience throughout his 29-year career in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Belgium and Singapore.” The future EuroAPI chief was most recently CEO of intermediates and API producer Centrient Pharmaceuticals, based in Rotterdam.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist