Zentiva's IPO

Zentiva's initial public offering has given a boost to the local market. Analyst Jan Schiesser of Atlantik FT said he expects 5-10 more IPOs in the coming years, most of which, like Zentiva, should be former coupon companies. Zentiva owes its success largely to its historic dominance of the drug market. Zentiva is owned primarily by foreigners but gets national-champion treatment. It's part of a golden triangle that includes the health ministry's categorization commission and VZP insurer. This cozy relationship allows it to claim unusually high prices for its generic drugs by piggybacking on related branded medicines. Some people in the drug industry say it's only a matter of time before this comes under EU scrutiny, but Schiesser said he sees little risk of this. It'd be ironic if Zentiva's successful IPO sped up the process of lowering prices of Zentiva's own drugs. finanční trhy health Universal General Insurance