Biolab and Merz form a joint venture to compete with Botox
Valor Econômico
The national laboratory Biolab and the German pharmaceutical company Merz entered into a joint venture in order to operate in the aesthetic area in Brazil. The main flagship of the new company will be Xeonin, a botulinum toxin to compete in the country with Botox, produced by the American Allergan and Dysport, of the French Ipsen. Competition in this segment makes sense. Brazil is the world's second largest consumer of the botulinum toxin, behind the United States, in a market that should operate nearly R$ 250 million (US$ 135.1 million) this year in the country.
From the association of both the companies Merz Biolab Farmacêutica was born, a company that will receive a cash contribution of € 20 million this year to put up its structure in the country. The German company will be the controlling one, with 61% of the business, and the national company will have the remaining 39%. "Xeonin makes part of the new generation of botulinum toxins and represents an evolution in the process of purification of the product, since it does not need to be refrigerated", the President of Biolab, Cleiton de Castro Marques, told Valor. According to the entrepreneur, the company already has the authorization of the Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) for therapeutic use of Xeonin. "We are waiting for the authorization for the aesthetic use", he said. The expectation is that the authorization should be given between the end of this year and early 2011. The raw material will be imported from the headquarters of Merz.
The botulinum toxin is used in large scale by medical specialties such as ophthalmology and neurology for the treatment of diseases like strabismus, spasticity, torticollis and blepharospasms. It has been more than 10 years since the product started being applied by dermatologists and aesthetic plastic surgeons in procedures to ease wrinkles in the face, a clearly booming market in Brazil. The company will fight for the premium market. "We got into it to expand this market and fight for it with a quality product", said Marques. Last year, the French Ipsen started operating directly in the country also to fight for this market.
The partnership between Merz and Biolab is old. The national laboratory has been licensing four products of the German company for at least 10 years. With three plants in the country, installed in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, and earnings of R$ 540 million (US$ 274 million) in 2009, Biolab has focused its researches on nanotechnology. In October last year, the company placed its first product with this concept in market - a 100 solar protection factor sunblock for dermatological purposes. Three other products also based on nanotechnology will be launched in the coming months. The company foresees growth of 13% for this, with estimate earnings of nearly R$ 610 million (US$ 329.7 million).