Novalpina Capital has closed the acquisition of French specialty pharma business Laboratoire XO.XO focuses on prescription drugs treating chronic diseases that require prescription or recommendation by a physician or pharmacist. Its core product focus is selling and marketing ‘princeps’ – original drug brands – with defensible market positions and strong brand awareness. Based in Saint-Cloud, France, XO is a pharmaceutical company with deep expertise in marketing and brand revitalisation. The company outsources its drug production to API manufacturers and CMOs primarily based in Europe.
Gerard Leduc, Founder of Laboratoire XO, says: “Starting from small beginnings in 2015, I am proud to have grown X.O into a fast-growing niche-player in branded pharmaceuticals. With our strong base in the French market, we see tremendous opportunity for continued growth both in France and internationally. I am impressed by Novalpina Capital’s vision for the business, and I am pleased to continue in partnership with both them and XO’s excellent management team, as a Board member and investor.”
Karine Pinon, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Laboratoire XO, says: “In only a few years, XO has grown rapidly through our relentless focus on selling and marketing established original brand drugs. We have demonstrated our ability to integrate significant mature brands from large pharma companies; managing the complexity of bringing together multiple marketing and industrial authorisations from different countries. We have an agile and experienced team able to manage the whole process seamlessly.
“Our objective is to accelerate growth with an aggressive European acquisition strategy. Novalpina Capital’s support accelerates our aim to grow our product portfolio through acquisitions, expand into new strategic markets, and deepen the French market for our existing drugs.”
Stefan Kowski, Founding Partner of Novalpina Capital, says: “We’re truly excited to partner with Laboratoire X.O, which has exceptional growth prospects both at home and abroad. Karine and her team have built a very impressive business that’s a terrific platform for fast growth.”
