ZAGREB, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Croatia's pharmaceutical company Pliva, owned by Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, expects a record earning in 2019 with revenues of 5 billion kuna (747 million U.S. dollars), the company's President of the Management Board Mihael Furjan said on Wednesday.

Furjan said that 2019 has been a successful year for Pliva as the company has increased the revenues by almost one billion kuna (149 million U.S. dollars) which will result in higher profits, national news agency HINA reported.

In 2020, Pliva expects moderate business growth and a moderate increase in demand in foreign markets, Furjan added.

He said that the company employs 2,350 workers, and the pharmaceutical industry in Croatia is among the strongest in the country in the last few years.

Founded in 1921, Pliva is the largest pharmaceutical company in Croatia and one of the leading companies in Southeast Europe.

In the late 1970s, a team of Pliva's researchers discovered an antibiotic named Azithromycin or Sumamed. It is one of the world's best-selling antibiotics, used to treat or prevent certain bacterial infections.

In 2006, Barr Pharmaceuticals acquired Pliva and in 2008 Barr Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.