Attendees pose for a photo at the Korea-Brazil Business Roundtable held in São Paulo, Brazil, on Tuesday (local time). From left: Ryu Jin, chairman of the Korea Enterprises Federation; Kim Jung-kwan, minister of Trade, Industry and Energy; Lee Dong-hoon, president of SK Biopharm; Marco Villi, global CEO of Eurofarma; Marcio Elias Rosa, Brazil's minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services; and Laudemir Müller, chairman of Apex-Brasil. [SK Biopharm]
Attendees pose for a photo at the Korea-Brazil Business Roundtable held in São Paulo, Brazil, on Tuesday (local time). From left: Ryu Jin, chairman of the Korea Enterprises Federation; Kim Jung-kwan, minister of Trade, Industry and Energy; Lee Dong-hoon, president of SK Biopharm; Marco Villi, global CEO of Eurofarma; Marcio Elias Rosa, Brazil's minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services; and Laudemir Müller, chairman of Apex-Brasil. [SK Biopharm]

SK Biopharm, the only pharmaceutical or biotech company in President Lee Jae Myung's economic delegation to Brazil, is making a full push into the country's drug market — the largest in Latin America.

SK Biopharm announced Wednesday that it signed a strategic MOU with Eurofarma, Brazil's leading pharmaceutical company, in São Paulo, timed to coincide with the presidential delegation's schedule. The agreement marks the company's formal entry into the Latin American market of about 600 million people, centered on its epilepsy drug cenobamate.

SK Biopharm President Lee Dong-hoon traveled with the delegation and used the visit to review the launch status of cenobamate in Brazil and assess the partnership with Eurofarma. The two companies plan to combine Eurofarma's local infrastructure and commercialization capabilities to build a healthcare ecosystem spanning Latin America.

The MOU, concluded on the sidelines of the Korea-Brazil Business Roundtable, sets out five core areas of cooperation tied to the Brazilian launch of cenobamate: maximizing the product's market value, collaborating on central nervous system (CNS) pipeline development, conducting joint R&D on rare epilepsy, expanding cenobamate's reach across Latin America, and growing a digital healthcare business through their existing joint venture, Mentis Care.

Cenobamate — marketed locally under the brand name Xcopri — is set for an official launch in Brazil in August. The move follows earlier rollouts in Peru and Chile, and its entry into Brazil, the region's largest market, is expected to serve as a major springboard for broader expansion across Latin America. The two companies plan to leverage Eurofarma's regulatory and distribution network to establish cenobamate as a leading epilepsy treatment in the region.

In addition, the partners will accelerate development of a digital healthcare platform through Mentis Care, enhancing mobile app-linked medical solutions to support patients with seizure management and real-time health monitoring.

Having already succeeded in the US market with its in-house developed drug, SK Biopharm's direct entry into Brazil — Latin America's largest market — through presidential diplomacy signals that Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies are diversifying beyond North America and Europe into emerging global markets such as Latin America.

"It is meaningful that this visit has allowed us to build a comprehensive cooperation framework with Eurofarma that goes beyond expanding cenobamate's market presence to encompass the CNS pipeline, rare epilepsy R&D and digital healthcare," Lee said. "We will deliver innovative value to patients and medical professionals across Latin America."


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