Read the Conversation
Conversation highlights:
- Varifarma, a 30-year-old Argentine pharma company, is complementing its reliance on international licensing with a model led by in-house R&D, increasing its share of proprietary products and strengthening its export capabilities.
- With a legacy in oncology and hemato-oncology, the company now balances its portfolio across cancer, rare diseases, and diabetes, targeting high-cost, low-incidence conditions with significant unmet need.
- Leveraging deep knowledge of local markets, Varifarma positions itself as a cost-effective alternative to multinational therapies, expanding access while navigating complex pricing and reimbursement dynamics.
- Through partnerships with companies like Nanox and Biocon, Varifarma acts as a strategic entry point into Latin America, combining regulatory, commercial, and market expertise.
- Under its first non-family CEO, the company continues driving greater transparency, closer employee engagement, and an ambition to become an AI-first organization.
- The company views local volatility as a source of adaptability, positioning Argentina and Latin America as competitive environments for building globally relevant pharma players.
- Varifarma is accelerating its international footprint beyond Latin America, targeting Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia with affordable, high-complexity therapies.
EF: You have been with Varifarma for nearly two decades and have led its international expansion. How has the company evolved, and what role does Argentina play within your global strategy?
FC: I joined Varifarma 17 years ago as CFO and held that position for 10 years before becoming CEO in 2020. We are a family-owned company with more than 30 years of experience, headquartered in Buenos Aires, with manufacturing facilities for solids and injectables focused on oncology and rare diseases.
Over the past years, we have expanded our footprint across Latin America, establishing subsidiaries in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, and Colombia. We also work with distributors across the region, from Mexico to Argentina, and have started building a presence in Asia while exploring opportunities in Africa. Despite this international expansion, Argentina remains our core market. It is where our holding company is based and where approximately 80% of our revenue is generated.
EF: Your model combines international licensing with local development. How do you balance both to ensure sustainable growth in a volatile market like Argentina?
FC: Partnerships have been part of our model from the beginning. Our first agreements were with European companies, followed by collaborations with global players such as Amgen or Biocon. By 2018, around 70% of our business came from partnerships and 30% from our own products.
At that point, we decided to strengthen our proprietary portfolio by investing in our R&D capabilities. We hired specialized talent and brought key processes in-house.
Today, this balance between partnerships and internal development gives us flexibility. It allows us to adapt quickly to changing market conditions, which is essential in Argentina’s economic environment.
EF: You have mentioned plans to expand your manufacturing capacity in San Juan. What is the current status of that strategy?
FC: The expansion remains part of our long-term plan, but we are currently waiting for the right moment to move forward.
Over the past year, we have prioritized investments in quality control, particularly to support our partnership in diabetes and insulin products. This required strengthening both our systems and capacity. Our approach is to first ensure robust quality control capabilities and then move forward with expanding manufacturing capacity. Once that foundation is in place, we will advance with the new facility.
EF: With a strong focus on oncology and rare diseases, how do you address access challenges in cost-constrained markets like Argentina?
FC: We started as a purely oncology-focused company, with around 90% of our business in that area until about 10 years ago. Since then, we have diversified into other therapeutic areas, while continuing to focus on high-cost, low-incidence diseases.
Today, we have around 70 products, with approximately 60% still in oncology or hematology-oncology. We have built strong capabilities across commercial, access, and medical functions, and we have maintained a presence at ASCO for more than 15 years. This has positioned us as a well-recognized partner among oncologists in Argentina and across the region.
Rare diseases required a different approach, as we initially had no presence in that space. We invested significant time and resources to build relationships with physicians and payers.
Today, our portfolio is more balanced, with roughly 50% in oncology and 50% in other areas, including diabetes through insulin products.
EF: What differentiates Varifarma as a partner, and what type of companies are you looking to collaborate with?
FC: One of our key strengths is our long history of working with partners. We have built a strong compliance structure and long-standing relationships with regulatory authorities, which is a critical asset.
As a medium-sized company, we are particularly well-positioned to partner with small and mid-sized companies. Larger multinationals often prioritize bigger partners, while we can offer more focus, flexibility, and tailored support.
For us, these partnerships are highly strategic, and we are able to dedicate the time and resources needed to make them successful.
EF: As a board member of COOPERALA, how do you see the balance between attracting foreign investment and maintaining local industry strength?
FC: The macroeconomic situation in Argentina has improved compared to previous years, particularly as we are now able to import without capital controls or payment delays. This is critical for our operations, as we rely on significant imports of finished products from partners as well as APIs from China and India. From a macro perspective, this creates a more stable operating environment and allows us to function without major payment constraints.
In terms of market structure, around 60% of the system is publicly funded. Our main public client is PAMI, representing a third of our public market, and like most companies operating in oncology and rare diseases, we depend heavily on this segment. At the moment, we are facing some challenges with PAMI, as there is increased pressure to reduce prices. This is largely driven by the government’s broader effort to reduce healthcare expenditures.
At the same time, the system is under pressure from the rising cost of innovative therapies, particularly those developed by multinational companies targeting very small patient populations. This is not unique to Argentina, but a global challenge.
In this context, national companies like ours play an important role in improving access by working to reduce costs and optimize resource allocation. The objective is to enable governments and payers to treat more patients within the same budget. We are actively engaging with stakeholders to demonstrate how this approach can help address the broader access challenge.
EF: Looking back at your trajectory at Varifarma, what's one thing you're particularly proud of, and what do you still want to achieve in the next 5-10 years?
FC: One of the things I am most proud of is the cultural transformation we have implemented. I am the first CEO outside the founding family, and I have worked with the owners to build a more open and accessible organization.
For example, I introduced monthly meetings with small groups of employees from across the company. In these sessions, I share performance updates, discuss strategy, and answer questions directly. This has helped create a more transparent and collaborative environment. The feedback has been very positive, and it has strengthened engagement across the organization.
EF: As AI and digitalization reshape the industry, what type of talent and capabilities are becoming critical?
FC: I consider myself an early adopter of technology, and I am already using multiple AI tools in parallel to compare outputs and improve decision-making. We are working to embed this mindset across the organization. As a medium-sized company, we do not have unlimited resources, but becoming an AI-first organization is a priority. I've lived through many technological changes in my career, but I believe this AI transformation will be the most radical and fastest change we'll experience. I strongly believe that companies and professionals who do not embrace AI will struggle to remain competitive.
EF: What would be your message to international investors evaluating Argentina today?
FC: Argentina is a very challenging environment, but that is also its strength. Living and operating here requires constant adaptation to volatility, inflation, and rapid change.
This has created a generation of professionals and entrepreneurs who are highly resilient and adaptable. I often say that we have a master’s degree in managing volatility.
As the global environment becomes more uncertain, these capabilities are becoming increasingly valuable.
EF: Looking 10 years ahead, how do you envision Varifarma's impact on Argentina and the country's role in the global health industry?
FC: At Varifarma, our strategy is strongly focused on exports. We aim to expand our presence in emerging markets, particularly in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, where we see significant opportunities for our portfolio. In these regions, we can contribute to improving access to oncology treatments while offering more affordable solutions, enabling governments and payers to provide high-quality care to a broader patient population.
As a result, our main investments in strategy, time, and resources are directed toward strengthening our footprint in these markets. I have consistently focused on emerging markets rather than developed ones, as this is where we can compete more effectively and leverage our strengths.
Looking at Argentina, I am optimistic about the country’s long-term trajectory. Over the next decade, Argentina has the potential to become a key global player, particularly in supporting demand for energy and food production. The country holds significant natural advantages, including energy and mineral resources that are increasingly in demand globally, combined with its established strength in food production. Few countries have this combination of resources alongside the capacity to scale production, which positions Argentina as a highly relevant player in the global landscape moving forward.
