Startup will operate importing and distributing products
01/13/2023
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Claudio Lottenberg — Foto: Ana Paula Paiva/Valor
Zion Medpharma and Tegra Pharma launched on Thursday Endogen, a startup the two drugmakers called “the largest medical cannabis healthtech” in Brazil.
The new medical cannabis and nutrition brand will operate by importing and distributing products. In addition, it will take actions aimed at medical education, to expand the access of patients in the country to therapies with cannabinoids – active ingredients of cannabis.
Zion works with pharmaceutical products NatureLab, a laboratory of nutritional supplements, and Tegra is a local leader in importing cannabis-derived products for medicinal purposes, according to the statement from Zion and Tegra.
The partners in Endogen said the project initially envisages a commercial and operational agreement, with the integration of their scientific, educational, and sales teams.
Claudio Lottenberg, Endogen’s co-founder and chairman, said that “the new brand will impact the entire medical cannabis chain in Brazil, with benefits for patients, physicians, shareholders, and the scientific community in Brazil.”
“The outcome of this partnership is very positive. We will promote medical education to train and guide health professionals on the prescription of cannabis-based products; and direct education to society,” said the physician, who is also chairman of Sociedade Beneficente Israelita Brasileira Albert Einstein, which controls the namesake hospital based in São Paulo.
The statement informs that according to the Brazilian Cannabis Yearbook edited by the specialized consulting firm Kaya Mind, the country currently has more than 180,000 patients being treated with medical cannabis, considering the different ways of legal access to the medicines, among them the two areas of activity of the new company: imports and purchase in drugstores.
Marcelo Galvão, founder of Tegra Pharma, said that Endogen’s value proposition “stands out because it unites a cannabis specialist with a relevant player in the pharmaceutical and nutritional market, with a presence in more than 70% of pharmacies in Brazil.” “Plus, it offers the best products in the market, at truly competitive prices,” he said.
According to the statement, the healthtech will offer about 50 products, including cannabis-based pharmaceuticals and nutritional supplements. Two of its medical cannabis products have already been approved by Anvisa (the country’s regulatory agency) for sale in pharmacies, and eight more are expected to receive the same authorization in the coming years.
Lukas Fischer, the co-founder of Zion Medpharma, said it will be a brand positioned in the pharmaceutical channel, which offers a category of health products that stimulate endogenous factors in a preventive way, from the inside out, to promote the body’s balance (homeostasis) and the integral well-being of the individual.
The creators of Endogen had a joint turnover of more than R$40 million in the last two years, according to the statement. They expect to reach R$50 million in the next year.
In its first round of investments, the healthtech had the participation of the Green Rock fund and is already making new funding (Series A) under the leadership of MMK Brasil. In the first half of the year, Endogen intends to launch a digital marketplace for medical cannabis.
*By Ivo Ribeiro — São Paulo
Source: Valor International