Read the Conversation
Conversation highlights:
- A Mandate for Transformation. Introducing F.F. as the new General Manager for Mexico. Focus has been on resetting strategy, aligning teams, and executing a rapid business turnaround.
- Building momentum through Portfolio and Integration. Growth has been driven by strengthening the core portfolio and integrating ophthalmology to expand scale and relevance.
- Mexico as a Platform for Broader Expansion. The country is positioned as a key hub to support regional and international rollout opportunities through partnerships.
- Business Development as a Strategic Pillar. Faes Farma aims to become a preferred commercial partner by leveraging nationwide coverage and multi-specialty capabilities.
- People and Technology as Complementary Forces. Long-term success depends on strong relationships with healthcare professionals, enhanced by digital tools and AI.
EF: What mission were you given upon your appointment at Faes Farma, and what attracted you to the company?
FF: My appointment at Faes Farma came with a clear mandate: to lead a transformation of the Business in Mexico, doubling our income and growing EBITDA by the end of 2030
Despite the company’s long history and strong healthcare legacy, performance in the country was below expectations. My priority was to understand the team’s capabilities, review results, and identify what needed to change to deliver better outcomes.
We are accelerating our presence. Beyond improving performance, a second major objective has been to redefine our strategy in Mexico and broaden patient access to our portfolio, which delivers clear benefits versus competitors. In parallel, we are integrating a recently acquired ophthalmology company, bringing together two entities while maintaining business continuity and capturing synergies.
The third strategic pillar is business development. We aim to position Faes Farma as a preferred commercial partner for companies seeking market access in Mexico. With nationwide coverage, a large field team, and a presence across multiple medical specialties, we offer significant commercial capabilities.
Combined with a focused product portfolio, this makes us an attractive partner and explains why I view this role as a compelling and exciting opportunity.
EF: What market opportunities do you see for your primary care and established portfolio when complemented by the SIFI ophthalmic portfolio?
FF: We operate in markets that are expanding rapidly, in both volume and value. In Mexico, primary care and ophthalmology are growing strongly, and our ambition is to outpace that growth. The acquisition of the ophthalmology company has significantly strengthened our position: previously, we ranked outside the top 100 companies in Mexico.1Now we are around number 68, reflecting a clear step up in scale and relevance.
The ophthalmology opportunity extends well beyond Mexico. The acquired company has an established presence in several countries worldwide. By combining our businesses, we have significantly strengthened our ophthalmology portfolio, and the next step is to replicate this success internationally. While they have no presence in Latin America, we do, and we plan to leverage our regional infrastructure to roll out their portfolio across the region. Similar opportunities also exist in other parts of the world, including Europe, Africa, and Asia, through partnerships.
This aligns with a broader strategy shift. While historically the company prioritized stable profits and modest growth, recently, leadership has moved the company toward a stronger expansion strategy, and the market has responded positively, with a notable increase, reflecting confidence in this new direction. Today, the business generates around 600 million euros globally, and the objective is to surpass one billion euros within the next four years, an ambition in which Mexico is expected to play a significant role.
EF: How do you manage rapid growth and prepare your organization for it?
FF: The regional pharmaceutical market is growing at about 5 to 6 percent per year. In 2025, our business expanded, growing sales in high double-digit growth and evolving at 108 in a very challenging environment. For this year, we are targeting a similar growth.
We also expect significant momentum in ophthalmology, particularly following the integration of the acquired company. The full potential of this business may be larger than we initially anticipated. We expect ophthalmology to clearly outperform the market, likely in the high teens to mid-twenties. This segment has historically delivered double-digit growth, and with the integration and a renewed management approach, we are confident we will accelerate that performance.
EF: Over the past five years, what have been the key successes in Mexico’s life sciences sector, and what should the market prioritize over the next 4 years, by the time we get to 2030?
FF: I can speak to what I have observed over the past five. To succeed in the Mexican market, companies must define where they want to compete, how they will do it, and whether they have the capabilities across the organization to deliver on that choice. The most successful players combine innovation with a clear strategy and teams that are well aligned with the segments in which they operate.
For us, success in the following four years would mean having a solid, sustainable business in the private market. If we decide to expand into the public sector, we will need to build capabilities we do not yet have, either by developing them internally or bringing in external expertise.
Market dynamics also differ by segment. In the public sector, companies must follow government policy and how public institutions operate. Limited communication between government and industry in past administrations made planning and supply difficult. Without open and compliant communication, it is hard to manage tenders, production forecasts, and supply expectations. This is now beginning to improve, which is positive for the market.
In the private sector, a major trend has been the rapid growth of medical consultations in pharmacies. These services often fill gaps left by the public system and are widely used by patients seeking affordable care, changing how prescriptions are written and how patients access treatment. As a result, companies must look at the full healthcare ecosystem and understand how influence and decision-making are shifting across channels. Building a strong business in Mexico requires understanding these dynamics and adapting as the market continues to evolve.
EF: How does the reassessment of your public and private market strategy fit into your current plan to date?
FF: Although our business is currently focused on the private market, we are not ruling out the public sector. Through the acquisition, we inherited a small share of public business, but it remains marginal, and we essentially operate as a private company. That said, we are actively evaluating opportunities in the public healthcare system. There is clear growth potential, and we are considering how to incorporate a public segment into our model. From my experience in both private and public healthcare in Mexico, I see the public sector as a meaningful, historically overlooked opportunity. By remaining outside the public market, many patients lack access to our products, and we see real value in addressing that gap going forward.
EF: As someone with a strong background in the pharmaceutical sector, what skills will life sciences companies in Mexico need to succeed in the future?
FF: Many will say the future is about AI, digital transformation, and reshaping cost structures through technology. While there is truth in that, I see it somewhat differently.
After three decades in the pharmaceutical industry, I believe this remains, above all, a relationship-driven business. Success still depends on meeting HCPs, building long-term relationships, and having meaningful scientific conversations that, over time, influence prescribing behavior. Attempts to fully replace this with entirely new models have rarely worked.
That does not mean technology has no place. On the contrary, digital tools and artificial intelligence can significantly strengthen what already works. Core fundamentals like call frequency, coverage, and field execution will remain essential, while technology helps teams work more efficiently, connect more effectively with customers, and deliver more relevant, impactful messages.
The future is not about choosing between people and technology, but about integrating both intelligently. The companies that will succeed are those that blend relationship-building with digital innovation to influence customer behavior. Those that rely on only one approach, purely traditional or purely digital, are unlikely to succeed.
