Biolab finishes billion-dollar factory for almost a decade and recruits "army of pasties"
The new plant will more than double Biolab's current production, which plans to earn R$ 5 billion in 2027 from new launches and partnerships to sell drugs from foreign pharmaceutical companies.
Almost nine years since the construction was first announced in July 2017, and after doubling its investment volume along the way, Brazilian pharmaceutical company Biolab will inaugurate the company's main plant in the country in January 2026. Located in the city of Pouso Alegre in Minas Gerais, it will have the capacity to more than double current production.
Covering some 80,000 square meters, the plant will be responsible for producing more than 200 million units of medicine a year. The total cost of completing the industry exceeds R$1 billion.
"It's possible that we'll make even more investments in the plant. It will support the company for the next 50 years. We're going to double production capacity, with just one shift, and we can still implement two more," says Fabio Amorosino, Biolab's CEO, in an interview with Neofeed.
Today, Biolab has manufacturing facilities in the São Paulo cities of Taboão da Serra, Jandira and Bragança Paulista. Last year, the company sold 143 million units of medicines.
When the original project for the Pouso Alegre plant was launched, which involved an investment of R$ 500 million, the idea was that it would be ready in four years, by 2021. But the Covid-19 pandemic hindered this progress.
In April 2023, the pharmaceutical company said it would double its contribution, citing the impact of inflation in the period and the increase in the price of building materials and equipment. Between 2017 and 2024, the accumulated National Civil Construction Index (INCC) reached 101.7%.
Another point put forward by the company to explain part of the delay has to do with legislation. As well as meeting the requirements of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), the new unit also met the standards of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), in order to serve the export market.
The central unit is in the final stages of assembly and is currently operating in a kind of ramp-up, in a period of fine-tuning and adapting the production lines. The other buildings around the plant that make up the manufacturing complex have yet to be completed.
Despite the long construction period, the delivery of the new plant is seen as an important pillar in the company's plan to reach R$ 5 billion in revenue by 2027. Today the company makes R$ 3.2 billion.
Founded in 1997, Biolab's founders are Cleiton de Castro Marques and Paulo de Castro Marques, a family with a tradition in the pharmaceutical industry. Their brother Fernando Marques owns União Química and their nephew João Adibe Marques runs Cimed.
With annual growth of around 12%, the company will need to accelerate this pace to reach the target of R$ 5 billion, with a rate of at least 25% per year in 2026 and 2027.
Biolab Pastes
The growth path for the company, according to Amorosino, who has the new factory as its centerpiece, lies in two strategies. The first is the launch of innovative medicines, mainly in cardiology, an area that accounts for 52% of the business.
The company currently has five products in development, in the areas of the central nervous system, gynecology, diabetes, as well as cardiology drugs.
The second growth strategy is linked to the development of commercial partnerships for the representation and marketing of medicines in Brazil by foreign pharmaceutical companies. The rationale behind this plan is to take advantage of the company's sales force, which has 1,800 representatives.
There are 320,000 doctor visits a month, including 20,000 cardiologists. The Biolab sales assistant's "briefcase" therefore includes not only the company's launches, but also the products of foreign pharmaceutical companies.
With 35 active international partnerships, this vertical represents 30% of Biolab's turnover. The most recent was signed in September, with the British company George Medicines, for the sale in Brazil of Widaplik, the only medicine in the world that combines three active ingredients for the treatment of hypertension in a single tablet.
Approved by the FDA, the drug still needs to be authorized by Anvisa before it can be put on the shelves of Brazilian pharmacies. There is no certain deadline for this, but Biolab's CEO believes that this phase could be completed by the end of next year.
Last year, Biolab signed a partnership with the German company Bayer to market the contraceptive Qlaira, the segment leader in the country. Since 2022, the company has distributed and marketed the drug Repatha, which fights vascular diseases, from the American company Amgen.
The plan is to grow in this segment of international alliances. Today, Biolab has 186 partnership opportunities under analysis. However, this does not mean the volume of what actually becomes a contract.
"The consistency of the company's growth in relation to the market and the respect of the players Internationals looking for Biolab as a strategic partner in Brazil give us the confidence that the path will be reached," says Amorosino.
Family competition and IPO
Although its DNA is in the cardiovascular area, with a focus on the population over 50 in Brazil, Biolab has also sought to expand its portfolio and grow in generics, which today account for 20% of revenue.
The background is to ensure opportunities to capture the customer who starts buying the cheapest medicine when the 20-year exclusivity of the product's creator no longer exists.
Vonau, for example, which is in the company's top 3 sales and is indicated for nausea, had its patent expire in 2021. The drug was created in partnership with the University of São Paulo (USP), which received royalties for the duration of the patent.
Today, the company already offers ondansentrone (the drug's active ingredient) as a generic as well, which neutralizes the loss of sales of the reference drug.
With the expansion of the generics area, Biolab is moving into an avenue that Cimed has already traveled, which, for the CEO, is not seen as a problem, either from a business or family point of view.
"The Marques family is very representative in the pharmaceutical sector. There's a lot of respect between them. The market is sovereign and there is room for everyone. They each operate in the areas they believe add value," says Amorosino.
From next year, the two may also compete in the slimming pen market, which is expected to generate R$ 7.5 billion in Brazil once the patent for semaglutide expires.
In addition to Cimed, companies such as EMS, Biomm, Prati-Donaduzzi and other Brazilian companies have already shown interest in producing generic Ozempic. "It could happen. It's an interesting market and we're looking at all the opportunities. They're all looking," he says.
With the arrival of Amorosino at the helm in October 2024, Biolab's founders decided to advance the company's governance, with the implementation of a board with market professionals and the entry of the first CEO without the Marques surname.
Amorosino, who was CEO of Alfa bank for 16 years, had already held a seat on the board of directors for three years. Today, as well as being chairman, he also leads the board.
With seven seats, the board includes Cássio Casseb (former president of Banco do Brasil and GPA), Paulo Gandolfi (CEO of 3M Brasil) and João Bezerra Leite (former CTO of Itaú). The four executives join the Marques brothers and Dante Alário Júnior, another founding partner of the company.
With the growth plan established and the governance model designed, Amorosino recognizes that the company is now prepared for a possible IPO, when the market signals this window of opportunity.
"Governance today is the main connection between areas of the company, with the partners who are comfortable with this group. Our path is to generate value for the company," says the CEO. "An IPO can be a consequence."
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