Qualicaps® has acquired Brazil’s leading two-piece hard capsule manufacturer Genix Industria Farmaceutica, which has operations in the pharmaceutical hub of Goais, as well as commercial activities managed from Sao Paulo.
Qualicaps® is a global manufacturer of two-piece hard capsules and related pharmaceutical processing equipment. It belongs to the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation through the Life Sciences Institute, which encompasses its healthcare portfolio.
The acquisition of Genix Industria Farmaceutica allows Qualicaps to expand its global presence, adding Brazil to the list of its operating sites, which include Japan, Spain, Romania, Canada and the USA.
With over a century of experience and a strong record of pioneering in new forms of drug administration, Qualicaps® is responsible for several milestones in the history of hard capsule development. It has introduced features so widely accepted and trusted that they have since become standards in the pharmaceutical industry.
Through Genix, Qualicaps® will serve the pharmaceutical market in Latin America. It was valued by IMS Health at US$72 billion in 2014, and is estimated to grow annually at an average of 5-8%, through to 2019. The company will become one of the leading hard capsule manufacturers in the region, and the only one with a production site in Brazil, which is the third largest pharmaceutical market in the Americas after the USA and Canada, and eighth in the world.
Genix currently supply a large number of companies operating within the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industry, and accounts for over half of Brazil’s market share in hard capsules.
In addition to a strong customer base, Genix brings 13 years of experience in hard gelatin capsule manufacturing, and a robust process that is certified for Good Manufacturing Practice and Pharmaceutical Ingredients by health surveillance agency Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA).
From a financial perspective, Qualicaps’® revenue is estimated to grow by 7% in the short-term, while the Americas region will increase its overall contribution in the long-term through planned future capacity increases.
President of Qualicaps® Americas Kent M. Payne, said: "This acquisition marks a major milestone for Qualicaps® in positioning ourselves to provide a more complete coverage for our existing and potential pharmaceutical customers in the region. We look forward to continuing to accelerate our growth in Brazil and other Latin American countries as part of our overall strategic expansion plan for the Americas."
The two companies already share an important synergy that enables their integration, as Genix has a long-standing collaboration with Qualicaps’® subsidiary, Technophar. The fully-owned subsidiary provided the machinery and technology for both companies’ manufacturing processes.
"With Genix as part of the Qualicaps® group of companies, we continue along the path marked by our vision of becoming the number one preferred partner to the pharmaceutical industry through addressing our customers’ needs and growth in the South American region," comments Ciro Ahumada, Group CEO.
He adds that "Genix fully complements the Qualicaps® business, as it also has a strategical and operational focus on providing high-quality pharmaceutical-grade capsules along with scientific and technical support to our customers."