Celltrion is speeding up its push into Europe's pharmacy market by acquiring the French local healthcare corporations "Gifrer." The strategy is to respond to France's expansion of biosimilar substitution while broadening its reach into over-the-counter (OTC) and generic businesses.
Celltrion said on the 12th that it acquired 100% equity in Gifrer through its French subsidiary. It did not disclose the purchase price. The two companies plan to complete administrative procedures and business alignment within this month.
Founded in 1912, Gifrer is a local healthcare corporations with a supply network covering more than 9,000 pharmacies and about 800 hospitals across France. It has a portfolio of about 140 OTC, pharmacy medicines (DM), and health functional foods, including saline solution, teeth whitening agents, and infant and toddler products.
Celltrion plans to operate Gifrer as an independent corporation to maintain local brand competitiveness while maximizing sales synergies between the two companies. All of the roughly 70 existing employees will be retained.
The core of this acquisition is to strengthen responsiveness in France's substitution market. France began allowing pharmacy substitution for certain items in 2022, and last year included adalimumab (Humira), a global blockbuster drug, among the eligible items.
With approval for denosumab (Prolia, Xgeva) substitution increasingly likely this year, Celltrion plans to actively leverage Gifrer's pharmacy network to expand sales of the biosimilars "Stovoclo" and "Osenbelt."
An expansion of the OTC business is also expected. Gifrer ranks No. 1 in France's saline solution market with a 42% share, and holds a 28% share in the teeth whitening market. Celltrion projected that Gifrer's product lineup could generate an additional 250 billion won in sales over the next five years.
Celltrion is also reviewing ways to expand sales of Gifrer products to European markets outside France. It plans to increase OTC sales by linking to direct sales networks in major European countries such as Germany and to pursue additional in-licensing of generic and OTC rights.
A Celltrion official said, "With the acquisition of Gifrer, we have secured pharmacy sales competitiveness that enables a proactive response to broader substitution," adding, "We will continue to actively pursue acquisitions of local corporations that can create synergies between changes in healthcare policy and our direct sales strategy."