MOROCCO – CDG Capital Private Equity has announced an investment in Laboratoires Steripharma, a Moroccan pharmaceutical laboratory that manufactures generic medicines.
According to the terms of the transaction, CDG has acquired a stake in the Company from several minority shareholders.
Steripharma was founded by the El Bouri family in 1999.
It has since developed a large portfolio of drugs with strong recognition among patients and practitioners.
The Company has its own range of medicines (generics) and produces/distributes drugs under license for leading international laboratories.
Its product range covers major therapeutic areas, including infectiology and parasitology, cardiology, respiratory system, digestive system, dental care, ophthalmology and dermatology.
During the next growth phase, Steripharma plans to broaden its portfolio of products with the launch of several new drugs in the next five years to strengthen its existing therapeutic areas as well as entering new ones.
In order to support its growth strategy, the Company has just completed an investment program that will increase the production capacity by 60% and will add production lines for new types of drugs whilst improving quality and productivity.
“The pharmaceuticals sector, along with the broad healthcare sector, offers a significant growth potential given the changes in lifestyles and consumption behaviours as well as the demographic trends.
Morocco has already attracted numerous investments in this field from various players both strategic and financial.
Whilst the sector has been dominated in the past by the local subsidiaries of multinationals, several local players have emerged and grown into sector champions by offering quality drugs at competitive prices for the local population, as well as for export markets.
We believe the sector is now ready for a consolidation phase.
We are excited to back Steripharma in its growth plan and intend to continue to grow the Company through business development and acquisitions to deliver new affordable medicines.
This is our second investment in the healthcare sector after T2S in 2016 (distribution and maintenance of medical equipment) and we strongly believe this is a sector where we can add a lot of value to our partners,” said Brahim Guessous, Partner at CDG Capital Private Equity.
