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HRA Pharma, a privately-held European pharmaceutical company that designs products, devices and supporting services in reproductive health and endocrinology, announced today that it has expanded its commercial operations to a fifth European country, Spain.
Laboratorios HRA Pharma España, its newest subsidiary, was established to support HRA Pharma’s new generation emergency contraception, ellaOne (ulipristal acetate), which was launched today on the Spanish market.
Located near the heart of Madrid’s financial district, Laboratorios HRA Pharma España will handle the marketing, sales and distribution of ellaOne and of Lysodren, HRA Pharma’s orphan drug for the symptomatic treatment of advanced adrenal cortical carcinoma. Products will be sold throughout the country by its in-house, dedicated sales force. Ignacio Garcia has joined the company as general manager following a 20-year career at Schering and Bayer Schering Pharma in Spain, where he was most recently head of the Women’s Health Business Unit.
“Spain represents the third largest market in emergency contraception in Europe and we are excited about the tremendous opportunities that this crucial market, coupled with our experienced Spanish team, will bring to women’s health,” said Dr. Erin Gainer, CEO of HRA Pharma. “We are committed
to making ellaOne available to women throughout Europe one country at a time and, in parallel, to reinforcing our position as an independent company at the heart of niche products such as Lysodren in target markets.”
Laboratorios HRA Pharma España and the launch of ellaOne in Spain cap a year of strategic corporate growth for France-headquartered HRA Pharma that included expanded corporate
infrastructure in key European markets, the European approval and launch of ellaOne, and continued pre-clinical and clinical development of its pipeline of reproductive health and niche products. In addition to Spain, HRA Pharma now has subsidiaries in Germany, Italy and the UK. ellaOne, the only
approved emergency contraceptive to be specifically designed and developed for this indication, is already available in twelve European countries, and launches in the rest of the European Union are expected to take place in the coming months. The company has also entered into a number of partnerships worldwide to facilitate access to ellaOne, trademarked as ellaOne and ella in countries outside of the European Union, for millions of women.
