The Nov Santé Actions Non Cotées fund – initiated by France Assureurs and Caisse des Dépôts, managed by Eurazeo and focused on developing the French healthcare sector – is pleased to announce that it has completed a €23 million investment in Horus Pharma, a French pharmaceuticals company specialising in ophthalmology, which has reorganised its ownership structure.
A leading player in the French ophthalmology market
Horus Pharma was founded in 2003 and is a major player in ophthalmology in France. It sells a wide range of more than 40 medicines, medical devices and food supplements designed to facilitate eye and eyelid health. The company specialises in hyaluronic acid and preservative-free products, and is the producer of Vismed, the leading eye lubricant for treating dry eye and the first treatment to be covered by the French health system in that indication. Horus Pharma’s rapid progress in terms of innovation and new product launches means that it now has a market share of more than 12% in France, and over 30% in dry eye treatments. Since 2015, the company has been expanding outside of France and it now operates in 10 European countries.
In 2021, Horus Pharma generated revenue of more than €75 million and has a proven track record of strong growth, with sales rising at an average rate of over 15% per year in the last five years.
Horus Pharma’s founders are now entering a new phase of growth, focusing on three main aspects: pursuing R&D, bringing products developed in-house to market, and expanding internationally. They were keen to gain the support of the Nov Santé Actions Non Cotées fund and its broad expertise in the healthcare sector, while increasing their own stake in the business as longstanding shareholders exited.
A fourth investment for the Nov Santé Actions Non Cotées fund
This investment in Horus Pharma represents the fourth deal completed by the Nov Santé Actions Non Cotées fund, following its investments in Novair, PSIH and Seqens. A year after it was launched, the fund has now invested almost a quarter of its capital, with the aim of accelerating the development and transformation of the French healthcare sector.
With these four investments, Nov Santé Actions Non Cotées is helping to make France more selfsufficient in terms of healthcare and manufacturing:
- Helping hospitals to be more self-sufficient in terms of their oxygen supplies, via its investment in Novair (July 2021);
- Supporting the digitalisation and modernisation of hospital information systems, via its investment in PSIH (August 2021);
- Taking part in initiatives to move production of key pharmaceutical active ingredients back to Europe, via its investment in Seqens (December 2021);
- Supporting a French SME that is a leading player in ophthalmology, via its investment in Horus Pharma (March 2022).
Arnaud Vincent, Managing Director of the Nov Santé Actions Non Cotées fund, said:
“Nov Santé’s dedicated team is very happy to be working with the Claret family on the next phase of their company’s expansion. For the first time since the fund was launched, we are investing via a near-equity instrument. This is fully in line with the business plan being developed by Horus Pharma, which will benefit from all of Eurazeo’s expertise in healthcare and private equity.”
Martine and Claude Claret, Chairwoman and CEO of Horus Pharma and the company’s founders, added:
“We are delighted to be entering into this partnership with Eurazeo, which will bolster Horus Pharma’s position as it embarks on a period of major change in the next few years: maintaining a growth rate of 20% per year, speeding up international expansion, strengthening R&D operations and bringing through the next generation of management. Eurazeo’s extensive capabilities and expertise will provide us with vital support in all these areas.”
