One of the Greek pharmaceutical industry’s greatest success stories is in the midst of a deep crisis.
Pharmathen was one of BC Partners’ major acquisitions in Greece, completed in 2015 for 475 million euros from the Katsos family. Six years later, it was sold at a substantial profit by BC to Partners Group “on behalf of its clients,” at an enterprise value of approximately 1.6 billion euros!
Today, after about five years under new ownership, the situation is completely different, as developments with particularly serious implications have compounded the problems already reflected in the 2024 financial statements.
Pharmathen International’s facility in Sapes, Rodopi, has been placed on an “import alert” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), while investment vehicles of Partners Group—which are required to make relevant disclosures—have written off the value of their stake in the company.
This latest development carries significant weight because it originates from “vehicles” within the equity structure controlled by Pharmathen. Pharmathen S.A. is controlled by the private equity firm Partners Group through Pharmathen Midco 2 Sarl, which in turn controls Pharmathen International and CBL Patras.
According to an announcement by Partners Group Private Equity Ltd, Pharmathen has been placed on an FDA import alert, which limits its supply to the U.S. market.
Based on the updated outlook, the fund estimates that the company’s enterprise value is unlikely to be sufficient to cover its existing debt. As a result, it has written down the value of its stake to zero.
A similar action is noted in the monthly report of Partners Group Global Value SICAV for April 2026. There, too, Pharmathen is listed as an investment affected by the FDA import alert, resulting in the value of the stake being written down to zero, as the enterprise value is not deemed sufficient to cover the debts.
The wording is significant. It does not mean that a change of control has already taken place or that Pharmathen has formally been transferred to the creditors. It does mean, however, that based on the controlling shareholder’s valuations, the “common equity”—that is, the company’s common shares—is valued at zero.
As a result, the balance of power inevitably shifts toward the creditors, which include the controlling shareholder as well as Greek and foreign banks, among them Goldman Sachs and CVC, which is also very well known in Greece.
According to Greek banking sources, these two major international players are expected to show interest in the company, despite the difficulties it currently faces, as they already hold significant stakes in other pharmaceutical companies.
This is given that, in addition to the large initial purchase price and the investments that followed, around November 2025, Partners provided a new “capital injection” of 130 million euros to Pharmathen.
This move was made to address the problems that had arisen earlier and had been reported by Euro2day.gr as early as July 2025.
Apparently, to no avail.
The company was asked for its opinion on the above issues; in its communication with one of the report’s authors, it limited itself to the statement, “Pharmathen does not comment on the internal procedures of its shareholders.”
Timeline of the Dispute with the FDA
In late October 2025, following an on-site inspection at the company’s plant in Sapes—where injectable formulations are produced—the FDA identified a series of deficiencies.
According to reports, this resulted in the suspension of production, which also affected Pharmathen’s plant in Patras, as active ingredients are shipped from there to the Sapes facility. The company’s only facility that was not affected was the one in Pallini, as that is where solid-dose medications are produced.
Following the FDA’s negative assessment, Pharmathen began a race against time to rectify all the deficiencies identified by the U.S. agency. The latest information was that commercial production of the first injectable drug would begin in September.
It should be noted that the FDA’s import alert is a mechanism through which U.S. authorities can block or hold products at the border—without requiring a full physical inspection of every batch each time—when they believe there are serious compliance issues.
In the case of Pharmathen International, the FDA reports that it inspected the facility in Sapes in November 2025 and identified significant violations of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) regulations for pharmaceutical products, as well as weaknesses in control and documentation systems.
The key point is that the FDA placed the drugs and pharmaceutical products intended for import into the U.S. from this facility on an Import Alert effective April 23, 2026.
At the same time, it warned that it may withhold approvals of new applications or supplements that list Pharmathen International as the manufacturer until compliance is fully restored.
This entire situation has clearly impacted the company’s performance—as it is a purely export-oriented business (with approximately 95% of its sales coming from exports)—as well as its reputation on the other side of the Atlantic. At the same time, in an effort to streamline its expenses, Pharmathen began making cuts across the board.
While at the end of 2025 its workforce stood at 1,800 employees (offices plus three production facilities), reliable sources report that the workforce has been reduced to 1,600 through a voluntary retirement package—and further cuts may follow.
However, according to some sources, the company is now moving forward with the reconfiguration of both its factory and its operations in order to shift its focus from the U.S. to the equally large European market.
The Burden of Debt and the Gamble on Recovery
As it turns out, 2024 offered a glimpse into the future. Pharmaten S.A. closed the year with losses of 38.8 million euros, compared to profits of 23.7 million euros in 2023. Revenue fell by approximately 21%, to 250.4 million euros, from 317.1 million euros. Gross profit declined by 57%, to 46.3 million euros, while the company reported an EBITDA loss of 6.2 million euros.
An additional problem was the capital structure revealed in the 2024 financial statements. (Note: Published financial statements for 2025 are not yet available.)
Pharmaten S.A.’s total debt stood at approximately 324 million euros at the end of the year, causing the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio to deteriorate dramatically, as EBITDA turned negative. In short, the high debt was accompanied by a collapse in operating profitability, likely necessitating an additional capital injection, which Partners Group reportedly carried out in 2025.
Nevertheless, Pharmathen remains an important company for the Greek pharmaceutical industry and beyond. It has an international customer base, expertise in complex pharmaceutical formulations, a production base, and a historically strong investment in R&D.
This means there will likely be no shortage of “suitors” interested in its turnaround, provided that Partners Group steps aside, as many in the market expect. According to well-informed sources, the leading candidates—partly due to their status as creditors—are Goldman Sachs and CVC.