Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health), the healthcare unit of conglomerate Ayala Corp., said Thursday it acquired a significant minority stake in North Luzon-based pharmaceutical company for an undisclosed amount.
Ayala said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Thursday AHCHI Pharma Ventures Inc. (APV) signed a definitive agreement to acquire a stake in St. Joseph Drug.
AC Health president and chief executive Paolo Borromeo said the acquisition would strengthen the group’s pharma footprint. It is also is in line with the group’s commitment to enhance accessibility and affordability of healthcare for Filipinos nationwide, he said.
“St. Joseph Drug, alongside our existing retail pharma brand, Generika Drugstore, will expand our capacity and footprint to distribute quality and affordable medicine to our countrymen. Together with our pharma importation businesses IE Medica and MedEthix, we will greatly enhance synergies and efficiencies within our pharmacy platform to further improve our products and services throughout our AC Health network,” said Borromeo.
Established in 1958 by pharmacist Jose Cruz and his wife Leila Lagman from Dagupan City, St. Joseph Drug has grown from a modest provincial drugstore with three employees and a 3.5-meter storefront into a leading regional pharmaceutical chain spanning over 112 stores across Northern Luzon.
“This partnership with AC Health marks a significant milestone in St. Joseph Drug’s journey. We are proud to have established St. Joseph Drug as a household name in Northern Luzon over the years, and we look forward to broadening our reach with AC Health,” St. Joseph Drug chairman, president and chief executive Socorro Dorotea Cruz said.
APV is the holding company of AC Health’s pharmaceutical businesses. Its portfolio includes Generika Drugstore and I.E. Medica and MedEthix, its pharma importation and distribution arms.
Ayala, one of the leading conglomerates in the country with investments in banking, real estate, telecommunications and power generation, has been aggressively expanding into the healthcare sector in a bid to build integrated healthcare ecosystem with its three pillars: pharma, hospitals and clinics, and health tech.