Elea shareholders buy Cellera Farma, target Brazil expansion

At the same time, the Brazilian pharmaceutical company, whose portfolio includes brands such as Tylex, a painkiller, and Pamelor, an antidepressant, announced a distribution and commercialization agreement for two Sanofi drugs in the domestic market, a deal expected to add R$650 million in annual revenue.

Under the four-year agreement with the French pharmaceutical company, which includes an option to acquire the products, Cellera will double in size and increase its annual revenue to R$1.3 billion.

Cellera was founded in 2017 by businessman Omilton Visconde Junior, a well-known entrepreneur in Brazil’s pharmaceutical industry, alongside private equity firm Victoria Capital Partners.

The stake held by Victoria Capital, 79.9%, along with a 10% interest owned by Visconde Junior’s brother, were sold to Elea’s shareholders. The Brazilian executive will retain a 10% stake and remain chief executive officer, a position he has held since the company’s founding.

The value of the transaction, which has already been approved by Brazil’s antitrust regulator CADE, was not disclosed due to a confidentiality agreement among the parties. Industry sources consulted by Valor estimated, however, that Cellera’s valuation may have reached $300 million when factoring in the Sanofi agreement.

At least two Elea executives, Mathias Sielecki, a shareholder and member of one of the families controlling the Argentine group, and Mariano Foglia, are relocating to Brazil and will join Cellera’s management team as part of efforts to accelerate the company’s growth in the country.

“Elea is a market leader in Argentina and operates in several international markets. Entering Brazil had been an ambition for many years. It is the largest market in the region, with highly competitive and capable companies. We believe that, with our products, we can expand Cellera’s portfolio and also bring a development-oriented approach,” Daniel Sielecki, director and shareholder of the Argentine pharmaceutical company, told Valor.

According to Sielecki, the company recognizes that Brazil’s pharmaceutical market is defined by intense competition, but Elea, which posts annual sales of between $700 million and $800 million, has already dealt with similar challenges. Beyond its investments in the pharmaceutical industry, both inside and outside Argentina, the Sielecki family also has businesses in sectors including oil and gas, petrochemicals and natural gas transportation through TGS.

In addition to the size of the Brazilian market, Sielecki said the continued involvement of Visconde Junior and his experience in the local pharmaceutical industry would be key to executing the company’s growth strategy.

“Our plan is to develop new products and introduce molecules that are not yet available in Brazil. We will assess the Brazilian market and determine exactly which technologies we want to bring here,” he said.

Visconde Junior said that initially, Cellera’s strategy focused on acquiring mature drugs that no longer received significant investment from their original pharmaceutical owners and slowing or stabilizing declining sales trends.

With the Sanofi agreement, however, the company faces a new challenge: Puran, a hormone replacement therapy drug, and Zinpass, used to control cholesterol, are still growing. Puran is the market leader in its segment, with a 50% market share, while Zinpass ranks second in its category, according to Cellera’s CEO.