The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has announced a financing of US$45 million to Siegfried Panama, a subsidiary of the Roemmers Group, with the aim of expanding access to affordable and quality medicines in Central America.

The loan, signed in Bogotá, Colombia, will allow Siegfried Panama to complete the acquisition of a pharmaceutical production company based in El Salvador. This process will strengthen the local industry and promote the introduction of generic drugs in the countries of the North Triangle and Nicaragua.

“We are delighted to work with Grupo Roemmers to reduce the gap in access to quality health in Central America,” said Alfonso García Mora, vice president of IFC for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. “The financing is in line with our goal of boosting health resilience in the region through support for the local pharmaceutical industry, the distribution of affordable medicines and the expansion of responses to health emergencies,” he added.

Since 2018, IFC and Grupo Roemmers have developed a strategic relationship that includes three financings to their subsidiaries in Brazil (2018), Mexico (2019) and Colombia (2022). In addition, IFC has provided advice to Siegfried Colombia on energy efficiency, design of production plants, obtaining Good Manufacturing Practices according to Report 37 of the World Health Organization (WHO), EDGE certification in green buildings and certification in gender equity.

This fourth loan from IFC to Grupo Roemmers is part of a US$315 million financing package implemented in three phases, which also provides for investments in Colombia and Mexico. The total amount includes US$150 million of IFCs and US$165 million in funds mobilized by other international investors.