Celltrion has completed the integration of French health care company Gifrer and plans to strengthen cooperation between the two companies’ sales operations to create greater business synergies, the Korean biopharmaceutical group said Tuesday. According to Celltrion, Chairman Seo Jung-jin visited Gifrer during his trip to France last week and explored ways to combine the French company’s pharmacy sales network with Celltrion’s products to generate tangible business results. Established in 1912, Gifrer is a pharmacy and health care company with a sales network spanning more than 9,000 pharmacies and about 800 hospitals across France. Celltrion acquired the full stake of Gifrer in May. Celltrion has rapidly expanded its European sales and marketing network by focusing on hospitals, medical professionals and tendering institutions, but its direct access to pharmacies has remained limited. The company said the Gifrer’s pharmacy network has strategic value because it fills the gap in Celltrion’s direct sales network, allowing prescriptions initiated at hospitals to be linked to disp