Grupo Biotoscana, a pharmaceutical company based in Bogotá, Colombia, and majority owned by Advent International and Essex Woodlands, has signed an agreement to acquire United Medical, a group of pharmaceutical companies based in São Paulo, Brazil, to create a specialty pharmaceutical company with commercialization capabilities throughout South America.

The acquisition will broaden Biotoscana's portfolio of innovative licensed products as well as its geographic sales and marketing capabilities by expanding into the $28 billion Brazilian pharmaceutical market.

United Medical is focused on the critical care market in Brazil and is partner to several large biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including Gilead Sciences. The combined company will focus on critical and specialty care, oncology, hematology, hospital-based products, orphan drugs, pain and gastroenterology, and will have a deep commercial presence in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Ecuador. The new group will have a sales force of over 225 representatives and revenue of approximately $200 million.

The Latin American pharmaceutical market is one of the fastest growing pharma markets in the world. With a combined population of more than 600 million, a rapidly growing middle class and universal health care coverage in most countries, the 2013 pharmaceutical market of nearly $70 billion is expected to experience double-digit growth over the next decade. Biotoscana seeks to pursue this significant opportunity by broadening its existing commercial portfolio through partnerships with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for differentiated value-add products in its core therapeutic areas.

The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including Brazilian antitrust regulatory approval, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.