Acino Completes Acquisition Of M8 Pharmaceuticals Significantly Expanding Presence And Capabilities In Latin America

With nearly 300 new employees on board, Acino will enhance its presence in Latin America and strengthen its business through new partnerships, innovative and proven portfolio and therapeutic areas.

Acino, a Swiss pharmaceutical company headquartered in Zurich, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of M8 Pharmaceuticals (M8), a fast-growing specialty biopharmaceutical company, headquartered in Mexico City and focused on licensing, marketing, and distributing innovative and established medicines in Mexico and Brazil.

This acquisition provides Acino with access to the two largest pharmaceutical markets in Latin America, significantly expanding its geographic footprint and strengthening its position in the region. This development also enhances Acino’s offering for healthcare professionals and patients alike. Integration of the M8 portfolio, pipeline, and operations with Acino is underway while both businesses continue to focus on their day-to-day operations.

M8, formerly a Montreux Growth Partners portfolio company, brings a portfolio of well-known proven brands and innovative products, a best-in-class deal-making platform and an outstanding reputation among its partners. In addition, it has built a large pipeline across a broad range of key therapeutic areas, including CNS, cardiometabolism, respiratory, gastroenterology, oncology and hematology, and rare diseases.

Andrew Bird, Interim CEO at Acino commented: “I am delighted to complete this transformational deal for Acino. By bringing M8 on board, we are not only expanding our reach, but are also gaining a fantastic opportunity to further diversify our business, in terms of geographies, partnerships, product portfolio, and therapeutic areas. The M8 team has proven to be fast-paced and result-oriented and I am confident that their company culture and dedication will fit perfectly with our values and steadfast commitment to excellence. I extend a warm welcome to nearly 300 new colleagues at M8 who have now joined the Acino family.”

Joel Barlan, CEO at M8 commented: “Today marks an exciting new chapter for M8 and Acino. We look forward to working with our new colleagues to grow the combined business and continuing to bring proven and innovative treatments to patients and caregivers throughout Latin America and other emerging markets.”

Banco J.P. Morgan S.A. acted as exclusive financial advisor, Goodwin Procter LLP, Creel and Demarest Advogados as legal advisors, and PWC as exclusive accounting and tax advisor to Acino. Stifel, Cooley LLP and Credit Suisse, a UBS Group Company acted as advisors to M8.