Aché plans to double in size in five years

One of the largest national laboratories, Aché started in 2015 a new growth cycle. The goal is to internationalize the business-advancing Latin America's markets as a priority-, double in size every five years and launch at least one medicine developed from radical innovation that embodies a leader in its segment, as the anti-inflammatory Acheflan.
The way that the lab should follow is expected in 2030 strategic planning, designed with the participation of the new President, Paulo Nigro, who before arriving to the pharmaceutical industry was ahead of Tetra Pak in the Americas. The Executive took over in January, effectively, the Presidency of the Aché, who for nearly two years, after the departure of former President José Ricardo Mendes da Silva at the start of 2013, was run by a Management Committee.
During this period, multinationals would have harassed the shareholders of lab-families Depieri, Dellape Baptista and Siaulys-, interested in buying the company that last year closed with net revenues of 2.1 billion R$ profit of 471 million R$. The talks, however, thrived and before the renewal of the long-term strategy, shareholders would not be even looking at opportunities in this regard.
According to Nigro, the strategic planning is supported by five pillars, including growth in all business areas, with priority focus on innovation. Last year, investments in innovation have turned around 140 million R$. In 2015, are already more than 200 million R$, of which r $ 20 million in so-called radical innovation.
The lab, according to Nigro, wants to reach a new market-leading drug and reference in innovation, like Acheflan, which required ten years of research and was the first 100% herbal medicines developed in Brazil. With sales exceeding $ 20 million a year, accounts for 28% of medical prescriptions in its segment.
To boost the development of innovative drugs, Aché opens tomorrow at its headquarters, in Guarulhos (SP), the laboratory of Molecular Design and Synthesis, within the new centre of Radical innovation. "We want to now a synthetic radical innovation," said Nair, adding that in the list of best bets appear a molecule for the treatment of vitiligo and again for anxiety.
In all, the current portfolio comprises 16 radical innovation projects, divided into synthetic, phytotherapy (one for diarrhea, whose sales potential is also high) and in dermocosmésticos. These molecules, according to Nigro, may accredit Aché to enter foreign markets, especially Latin Americans, that gradually would receive other products.
"We're going with new portfolio, Discretized, and once established commercial relationship gradually added other existing products," explained Nigro. Today, exports represent only 1% of business and there is plans initially to purchase assets for production on international soil. "I don't believe in internationalization via acquisition," he said.
Another route of access to the international market is the establishment of partnerships with foreign Drugmakers to develop technology platforms. The first partnership between Aché that line was closed with the Swedish biopharmaceutical Ferring, which focuses its research efforts and manufacturing in the area of peptides and proteins.
Owner of medicines with sales over 100 million R$, Aché uses mainly its own resources to finance the expansion. In 2015, said Nigro, must show 10% expansion and much of the growth comes from new products placed on the market in the last two or three years. In total, Aché has 176 developing products in its pipeline.
In addition to prescription drugs, generic and non-prescription drugs (OTC), Aché operates in the dermocosmésticos and prepares to enter the institutional pharmaceutical market, which covers hospitals and Government. Today, almost 100% of sales from the lab do retail.