Demarest announces new Life Sciences and Healthcare partner

Elysangela Rabelo will bolster the firm’s practice area, combining her experience in highly complex operations in the legal and business sectors

Demarest Advogados, one of the largest and most respected full-service law firms in Latin America, announces the hiring of Elysangela Rabelo as a new partner in the Life Sciences and Healthcare practice area.

Driven by technological advances, demographic factors, regulatory changes, and health policies, the Brazilian Life Sciences and Healthcare sector holds significant growth potential in the coming years and requires increasingly specialized professionals.

Elysangela has worked as a lawyer for over 25 years and concentrates her practice in the Life Sciences and Healthcare practice area, combining her experience in commercial transactions as well as in mergers and acquisitions due to her extensive technical and regulatory knowledge. Among her key clients, she advised hospitals, health technology startups, specialized clinics, as well as companies in the health insurance, pharmaceutical, global medical equipment, cosmetics, and food industries.

Elysangela holds a post-graduate degree in Business Management from Business School São Paulo. She is currently vice president of the Life Sciences Subcommittee of the Technology Law Committee of the IBA (International Bar Association).

“Increased longevity and the aging of the population drive the demand for innovative healthcare solutions while the Federal Government takes further steps to expand the national production capacity, reduce dependence on imports, and strengthen the production chain. In addition, the growing demand for services and products is also reflected in the supplementary healthcare market, which serves approximately 50 million Brazilian inhabitants”, says Elysangela. She also emphasizes that Brazil holds a strategic market for most multinational pharmaceutical companies, owing to its population size and its prominence as a business platform in Latin America.

“By virtue of its strategic importance in terms of public health and the economy, the Life Sciences sector positions Brazil as a flourishing market in terms of opportunities. From a legal point of view, the Brazilian market demands a highly specialized legal practice, with in-depth knowledge of the specific regulations, which enables more complete legal advice for companies seeking to do business in Brazil”,added the new partner, who joins the firm alongside lawyer Giulio Gatti. “I expect to contribute to further developing Demarest’s Life Sciences and Healthcare practice area, also aiming to increase the firm’s recognition in these sectors.”

“The sector has been receiving strategic investments recently, accounts for a significant share of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and is expanding rapidly. Elysangela’s arrival is paramount to strengthen client service and leverage future transactions in this area”, says Bruno Aurélio, partner in Demarest’s Life Sciences, Infrastructure, and Regulatory Law practice areas.

According to IBGE’s latest data, expenses with healthcare products and services accounted for approximately 9.7% of GDP in 2021, totaling nearly BRL 872.7 billion, which illustrates the sector’s potential.

Paulo Coelho da Rocha, Demarest’s managing partner, highlights that Elysangela’s arrival will contribute to expanding the firm’s multidisciplinary Life Sciences team and will leverage the sector’s complex and significant operations even further.

“In view of the intense and growing use of technology, increasing investments in research and development, transformations within Life Sciences and Healthcare companies, and increasingly innovative projects, it is fundamental to rely on professionals with Elysangela’s experience and profile – who joins the team to consolidate Demarest’s participation in an industry that is a priority in the firm’s strategic planning”, Paulo says.