EMS announced yesterday the purchase of Medley, consolidating its position as the largest generic pharmaceutical company in the country, with between 30% and 31% of this segment, when the deal is approved by the authorities that regulate competition. Analysts estimate that with the expiration of the patent for injectable pens this March, national companies are preparing to launch cheaper generic or similar versions.
The purchase of Medley by EMS would fit into this strategy as the company gains traction to expand its production of generics, according to analysts. The injectable pen market is worth around R$11 billion globally and the expectation is that this volume will almost double with the arrival of generics.
As EMS has already created a national version of its weight-loss pen with liraglutide in 2025, it should also be positioned on semaglutide (Ozempic) as soon as the patent expires, say experts in the sector.
Live off the profits of big companies
“Consolidation movements in the pharmaceutical sector, such as the acquisition of Medley by EMS, can be interpreted as a strategy to expand production capacity, strengthen the national industry and prepare the market for the arrival of new, more accessible therapeutic alternatives”, says Mara Machado, CEO of Instituto Qualisa de Gestão and specialist in Sustainable Health.
She points out that when innovative medicines lose their patent and have generic or similar versions, an important movement occurs for the sustainability of the healthcare system, because competition tends to reduce prices and expand the population’s access to high-cost treatments, as is the case with injectable pens used to control diabetes and obesity.
EMS reported that the transaction with Medley reinforces its growth strategy in the Brazilian pharmaceutical market, expanding scale and commercial presence. The next steps, however, will be defined at another time. The company understands that the combination of EMS’ industrial capacity and portfolio with the strength and recognition of the Medley brand will tend to expand the company’s reach in the market.
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New factory
Following the purchase of Medley, the vice-president of EMS, Marcus Sanchez, stated that there is the possibility of building a new factory, possibly in Manaus, where EMS already has a unit. The city is preferred because of the tax benefits offered to the region, which will remain, even with the tax reform, said Sanchez. EMS recently announced a new wave of investments in factory expansion, worth R$1 billion in the coming years
EMS outperformed major competitors who made proposals for Medley, including the Indian Sun Pharma and the Brazilian Hypera, Biolab and Aché. He ended up winning the dispute by offering a larger check.
“It was an extremely competitive process, with so many other companies in the market, but we managed to conclude, together with Sanofi, the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Medley, one of the best-known brands of generic medicines in Brazil, and a very well managed company”, said Marcus Sanchez, vice-president of EMS in an interview where he detailed the transaction.
He recalled that this is not EMS’s first deal with Sanofi, as it had previously acquired Dermacid, a brand of intimate soaps, from the French company in 2023. The purchase value was R$366 million. This partnership, according to analysts, also contributed to EMS being chosen.
Generics are medicines that contain the same active ingredients, in the same dosage and pharmaceutical form as the reference medicines. They are produced after the patent of a pioneering medicine expires, allowing other manufacturers to make equivalent versions and enabling competition and, often, price reduction.
Medley has a factory in Campinas and around 900 employees and the EMS headquarters is located in Hortolândia (SP), 20 kilometers away from the Medley unit. This, according to the vice president, is a beneficial geographic issue to bring efficiency to the business. Sanchez said that the idea is to maintain this unit, which should receive investments, as well as the staff.
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Generics market is worth R$32 billion in Brazil
Nelson Mussolini, executive president of the Pharmaceutical Products Industry Union (Sindusfarma), assesses that the Medley brand is an important asset in the generics segment, having been built over the years. Therefore, the business brings a lot of value to EMS. The fact that EMS, a Brazilian company, overcame international competitors interested in Medley also reveals the strength of this sector in Brazil, says the executive. He remembers that among the largest laboratories in the country, the first five are already national.
“And I don’t see any problems with market concentration in the transaction due to the dispersion of this segment”, assesses Mussolini, who recalls that the pharmaceutical sector grows 10% per year in revenue and generated around R$226 billion in Brazil in 2025.
Of this total, R$194 billion came from sales of “branded” products, while R$32 billion came from the generic market, which represents 14.4% of the sector.
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