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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Two Brazilian Pharmaceutical Firms Invest In Maryland Research And Development Centers

12/04/2013
Two Brazil-based pharmaceutical firms plan large-scale investments in Maryland research centers to develop next-generation medical products used to treat patients fighting diseases worldwide.

Brace Pharmaceuticals, an investment company created by EMS S/A, Brazil's largest domestic pharmaceutical company, opened its U.S. headquarters in Montgomery County, Maryland, while another firm, DK Diagnostics of San Paulo, prepares to open its facility in Frederick, Maryland.

Brace Pharmaceuticals will invest $200 million in a research and laboratory facility located at the Rockville Maryland Innovation Center. According to state officials, the firm will focus on the late-stage clinical development of pharmaceutical products with the potential for near-term commercialization.

According to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Office, Brace invests in research and development companies' efforts to successfully complete their clinical trials and seek FDA marketing approval. Brace recently entered into its first venture investment in a U.S. company with Gliknik, a Baltimore-based biopharmaceutical company that is creating new therapies for cancer and immune disorders.

"Brace Pharmaceuticals' decision to establish its U.S. headquarters in Maryland reaffirms the State's position as one of the world's leading locations for life sciences innovation," said Governor O'Malley. "We welcome Brace and are pleased that they will be able to benefit from our highly-educated workforce and our proximity to key federal labs. Their work with a wealth of cutting-edge companies will help to cure diseases and develop new therapies to save lives across the globe."

"By establishing Brace's operations in Rockville, Maryland, we have access to one of the U.S.'s top life sciences communities," Brace's Vice President of Strategy & Operations, Vinzenz Plorer said. "There is a talented pool of industry experience to draw upon as we expand our footprint. Moreover, there is established infrastructure and support from companies, universities, NIH and FDA."

In an additional investment project, Governor O'Malley said DK Diagnostics, a Sao Paulo, Brazil-based biotechnology company, is planning to expand its presence in Maryland, invest $1 million in the new operation and grow to 20 employees over the next two years.

Founded in 2004, DK Diagnostics manufactures and markets a parasite testing kit called PARATEST. Currently, the company has four employees in an office in Frederick and recently began manufacturing the product in Maryland.

"It is our goal to become an export company to NAFTA's market from our plant in Maryland and help fortify the concept of biotechnological innovation that is the State's mark," said Jose Carlos Lapenna, DK Diagnostic President & CEO.

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