Spi Pharmaceuticals Inc

SPI Pharmaceuticals Inc., continuing its aggressive expansion into Eastern Europe, said Thursday that it has tentatively agreed to form a joint venture with one of Russia's oldest drug manufacturers. SPI, which is 70% owned by ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Costa Mesa, did not disclose financial details of its agreement with Oktyabr Pharmaceutical Factories, a St. Petersburg company founded in the year 1714.

Earlier this year, SPI Pharmaceuticals Inc. took its products to Eastern Europe when it formed ICN Galenika, a joint venture with a Yugoslav drug maker. The Costa Mesa pharmaceutical company is going abroad again, this time to donate vitamins to Kiev in the Ukraine. SPI has donated more than 118,000 bottles of vitamins--worth about $570,000--to World Emergency Relief, a Carlsbad relief organization that provides food and medical supplies to needy countries.

Buoyed by the success of its new Eastern Europe joint venture, SPI Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Wednesday that its third-quarter profits more than doubled to $8.7 million, up from $3.4 million for the same quarter last year. The company earned 52 cents per share on sales of $96.8 million, contrasted with earnings of 22 cents per share on sales of $31.4 million for the third quarter of 1990. SPI stock, which is traded on the American Stock Exchange, rose 37 cents Wednesday to close at $18.75.

SPI Pharmaceuticals Inc., a small Costa Mesa drug company, said Monday that its Yugoslavian joint-venture company has received a $22-million order for pharmaceutical products from a Soviet trading company. This is the largest order for Belgrade-based ICN Galenika since Costa Mesa-based SPI acquired 75% of Yugoslavia's largest drug company, Galenika Pharmaceuticals, for $50 million in May. ICN Pharmaceuticals, also of Costa Mesa, owns 80% of SPI.

SPI Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Monday said it plans to increase its number of shares by 15% and distribute the additional shares to its stockholders. The moves are intended to make the company's stock easier to buy and sell, said Jack Sholl, a company spokesman. In addition to a 10% stock distribution in March, the company said it will provide a 15% distribution on Aug. 5 to shareholders of record as of July 25. Holders of 100 shares, for example, would receive an additional 15 shares.

Buoyed by its merger with Yugoslavia's largest drug manufacturer, SPI Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Monday reported sharply higher profits and sales for the second quarter. The Costa Mesa-based subsidiary of ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported net income of $5.7 million, up 42% from $4 million for the corresponding period last year. Sales for the quarter ended May 31 were $54.6 million, up 71% from $32 million a year earlier. The company said totals for the quarter included $19.

SPI Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s foray into Eastern Europe begins today as it takes control of Yugoslavia's leading drug manufacturer, Galenika Pharmaceuticals Inc. The new subsidiary, called ICN Galenika, is a joint venture with SPI owning 75% and Galenika, a state-owned company with a smattering of other small industrial ventures, retaining a 25% interest. Three of the company's four directors will come from SPI, while Dr.