Switzerland's Nycomed has a mission: to double size of its business in Brazil

Brazil's dynamic pharmaceutical market has become a challenge for many drugmakers, seeing a slowdown in their former important territories such as the USA. Not least of these is Nycomed, which has targeted the country and set out its goals and tactics for success, reports The Pharma Letter's editor from Sao Paulo.

Nycomed, the privately-owned Swiss drugmaker which (founded in 1874) started in Norway and Denmark but significantly expanded through its merger with the UK's Amersham in 1996 and then the acquisition of the pharmaceutical business of Germany's Altana in 2006, has ambitious expansion plans, especially in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) markets, where dramatic growth is being seen in their pharmaceutical sales. It also bought the US drugmaker Bradley 2007, taking the Swiss firm into the top 25 global pharmaceutical companies, as well as a place in the world's largest market for medicines.

Nycomed has a broad portfolio focused on branded drugs in gastroenterology, respiratory and inflammatory diseases, pain, osteoporosis and tissue management. It also has an extensive range of over-the-counter products. Its sales in 2008 reached 3.4 billion euros ($5.05 billion), generating EBITDA of 1.2 billion euros.

Globally, among its most exciting new developmental products is the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) drug Daxas (roflumilast). This was acquired along with Altana and has been submitted to, among other regulatory authorities, the US Food and Drug Administration for approval, and is the subject of an agreement with Forest Laboratories on US commercialization of the drug. Currently, Nycomed's biggest selling product is the gastrointestinal agent pantoprazole (trade name Pantazol in most markets) which, despite now facing generic competition, still produced turnover of 272.8 million euros in the third quarter of 2009.