A DERBYSHIRE pharmaceutical firm has struck a deal exposing it to nearly 200 million potential customers.

After more than two years of talks, Melbourne-based Oxford Nutrascience has got a foothold in the Brazilian market.

It has signed an exclusive licensing and distribution agreement with Aché Laboratórios Farmacêuticos, one of the country's largest pharmaceutical companies.

Under the terms of the seven-year agreement, Oxford Nutrascience will supply healthcare products to be sold under the Brazilian firm's Inellare women's health brand.

Oxford Nutrascience has patents on technology that allows medicines and nutritional supplements to be made into chews.

The Derbyshire firm will also help develop further pharmaceuticals for the Inellare range.

Aché will distribute Oxford Nutrascience's products into the growing consumer healthcare market in Brazil through its own sales network.

Oxford Nutrascience chief executive Nigel Theobald was instrumental in gaining regulatory clearance to get into the Brazilian market.

The country has one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the emerging economies, worth an estimated $22.9 billion in 2010.

Oxford Nutrascience's strategy is to develop new drug-delivery products – innovative ways of taking medicine, such as its chews, or creating products that mask the unpleasant taste of common drugs.

The company hopes that this latest deal will help it gain access into the higher-value pharmaceutical market in Brazil.

Mr Theobald said: "This process started two-and-a-half years ago and we have worked closely with Aché to get the product ready for the Brazilian market.

"We have done market research with doctors and gynaecologists to get the product format right and are confident of a big success as Aché has an excellent sales force.

"Big pharmaceutical companies are attracted by our ability to apply novel technology to extend the lifecycle of existing branded generic medicines, which they have often invested many millions of dollars into.

"The growth of Brazilian pharmaceutical products is making the country one of the most important global markets for these medicines."

Julio Conejero is the managing director of the over-the-counter and generics business unit at Aché Laboratórios Farmacêuticos.

He said: "Aché has a successful track record of working with innovative companies and successfully launching their products into the Brazilian market using our sales representatives.

"We are excited about the prospects of our agreement with Oxford Nutrascience and their product pipeline.

"We are very pleased to have entered this partnership with Oxford Nutrascience, which gives us access to cutting-edge technology and expertise to develop innovative high-quality products."

The next step for Oxford Nutrascience is commercialising a product that masks the taste of ibuprofen.