The Eurofarma pharmaceutical laboratory, of Brazilian origin, plans to double its production in Argentina in the coming years. They have been present in the country for 15 years and have been growing strongly since last year through the production of medicines for other local laboratories looking to outsource production.
They landed in Argentina in 2009 with the purchase of the Quesada laboratory and the industrial plant they have in Lomas del Mirador, where they work. 250 people in three shifts. There they produce, among others, fertility drugs, oncology and cardiac drugs. Today 50% of what they produce is exportedthrough our products or those of third parties.
With more than 50 years on the market, Eurofarma is the first pharmaceutical multinational in Brazil and the third company in the sector in Latin America. With a presence in 22 countries, they have 12,600 employees and bill globally 1.8 billion dollars and produce 573 million units of medicines .
At a local level, the vertical production of medicines for other laboratories has been promoted since last year. This strategy allowed him to do so grow by 50% last year, after adding two of the largest local laboratories as customers.
“There are very large laboratories that have bottlenecks and then choose to outsource production. Eurofarma has been working for some time to include these activities and last year this came to fruition”, explained Pablo Angiono, general director of the company.
“Our interest is that this factory is as productive as possible. We are thinking of bringing some units produced in Brazil here between this year and next because we have somewhat limited capacity there,” said Rosalba Pantoja, executive director of International Operations.
In 2022, the factory produced 12 million units of medicines. In 2023 they reached 17 million, with an increase of 50%, and this year we hope to reach 21.5 million units
“We plan to bring another 30 million units between 2024 and 2025, which is almost doubling Argentine production. These drugs would be destined for the Brazilian market and the rest of Latin America. We will probably see the first units of this new batch arrive from Brazil in the last quarter of this year or the first quarter of next year,” says Pantoja.
Going forward, Angiono emphasizes that they do not exclude the growth of inorganic forms, through purchases of brands, laboratories or portfolios. “In Argentina we would be interested in having a broader portfolio, but it always depends on what is for sale and whether it is aligned with Eurofarma’s growth strategy. The company always has a great desire for investments,” says Pantoja.
Eurofarma’s intention is to position itself in the medium term among the top 20 Argentine laboratories and increase the country’s participation in the international sales of the Brazilian multinational. Argentina holds 5.4%, behind Mexico, which represents 23% of international sales, followed by Colombia with 20.4%, Chile with 12.6% and Peru with 8.4 %.
Despite rumors that Argentina is preparing to deepen the exchange rate lag, Pantoja stresses that “With these costs we are competitive and the more products we produce, the more competitive we are. “The best strategy we can adopt to reduce costs is to increase production units.”
Source: Clarin
