Probiotics
BioGaia signs new distribution channels in the Far East
The deals, with Beijing Keyuan Xinhai Pharmaceutical and Dong Sung Pharmaceutical in Korea, will see the tablets sold under BioGaia’s own brand and commence this year.
“Over the last year, we have been focusing on getting our products into the Bric markets and I am very happy to see that they now will be available in the largest of them all. China is of course a market with tremendous potential, but also with many challenges in terms of achieving sufficient distribution and penetration. With Keyuan as our partner we are confident that we will be successful also in China in the long-term”, said Peter Rothschild, President of BioGaia.
Beijing Keyuan Xinhai, a subsidiary of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding, is an industry major with a number of business areas, including hospital drug supply and the sale of medical appliances, consumables and pharmaceuticals. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co. Ltd.
Korea move
The partnership with Dong Sung is aimed to significantly improve BioGaia’s existing distribution coverage in South Korea. The company’s existing partner will also continue covering the multi-level marketing channel.
“The Dong Sung agreement means our products will be available in our traditional distribution channel in a market with good potential. South Korea has 50m inhabitants and is ranked as the country with the fifteenth strongest purchasing power in the world.”
Dong Sung is a leading South Korean pharmaceutical manufacturer founded in 1957. The company was made public in 1990 and has a large medical sales force visiting paediatricians and internists, including gastroenterologists.
BioGaia develops, markets and sells probiotic products with documented health benefits. The products are primarily based on the lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus reuteri, which has probiotic, health-enhancing effects.
Both the ProTectis baby drops and the ProTectis tablets contain BioGaia’s patented probiotic strain Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis. BioGaia Gastrus is a new product that is currently being investigated in patients with Helicobacter pylori infection.
