The International Finance Corporation (IFC), member of the World Bank Group, will provide a US$30 million to Neolpharma, a Mexican pharmaceutical group focused on R&D, manufacturing, distribution, and commercialization of high-specialty generics for the private and public health system, to satisfy the growing demand of high-specialty medicines for the middle to low income population in the region.
The loan will finance Neolpharma’s growth plan which includes expansion of its production facilities of high-specialty products and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), the most important raw material in the production of medicines.
Juan Gonzalo Flores, Country Manager of IFC México, said: “Budget constraints have increased due to the Covid-19 crisis and other macroeconomic factors. By financing Neolpharma’s expansion plan, IFC will contribute to increase the access and affordability of high-quality medicines in Mexico and the LAC Region for the middle to low income population in important therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular, oncology, central nervous system and diabetes.”
Efrén Ocampo, CEO for Neolpharma group said: “We are eager to collaborate with IFC in accelerating our expansion plans, while also focusing efforts towards sustainability and long-term growth. By investing on production capabilities, we aim to bring more resilience to our production supply chain. Neolpharma remains strongly committed on improving accessibility of high-quality medicines to benefit underserved populations.”
The US$30 million financing package is composed of a US$15 million loan of IFC’s own account, and a US$15 million loan from Canada-IFC Blended Climate Finance Program (BCFP). This is the first transaction of IFC in Pharmaceutical sector that includes funding from BCFP. At least US$15mn of the Loan is earmarked for climate investment. The operation will contribute to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 11,400 tons per year and the implementation of climate change mitigation projects, such as waste heat recovery for efficient cogeneration in production sites, rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) with battery storage and green buildings certified under Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE).
Neolpharma will be one of the first EDGE certified pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
Globally, 100 million people fall below the poverty line every year as a result of healthcare costs. IFC works with generic pharmaceutical companies and global medical technology companies to bring the latest standard of care to emerging markets affordably.
