About us
Meet our team of executives, partners and associates
To execute all the pillars of clinical development and deliver innovation in animal health with broad and accessible future distribution in the market, we have a multidisciplinary team, with a predominantly female leadership and international recognition.
Gabriela Cezar
Twenty years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector, with a solid track record in R&D and transactions in the sector. CEO of Panarea Partners, a boutique Strategic Advisory Company with consolidated transactions for clients such as Aché, Biolab Sanus, D'Or Institute (Rede D'Or São Luiz), AmoyDx (China), Algenis and Oncoclínicas&Co, among others. Head of ERDI (External Research & Development Innovation) at Pfizer for Latin America and South Africa, Director at Burrill & Company, led the raising and development of a pioneering venture capital fund of US$ 120 million focused on biotechnology in Brazil. Co-founder and former CSO of Stemina Biomarker Discovery in Madison, WI, a biotech founded in 2007 that commercializes diagnostic services and its inventions, patented by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Recognized by global awards such as WE Upjohn Award and Pfizer Worldwide Innovation Award, "Top 40 Under 40" by InBusiness magazine, and named by Forbes Magazine as "one of the twelve stem cell revolutionaries" in 2008. She holds a degree in Veterinary Medicine from UFMS (Brazil), an MS degree from the University of Brasília (Brazil), an MS degree from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland), and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA).
José Henrique N. Barreto
Economist with specialization in economic policy and programming. CEO of Grupo Stevia Soul SA, and businessman in the tobacco industry. Vice-president of the Tobacco Industry Union of the State of Bahia. Effective member of the Council of Representatives of the Industry Federation of the State of Bahia. Counselor at the National Confederation of Industry. Full delegate at the National Confederation of Industry. Elected director of the National Confederation of Industry. Former president of the Tobacco Industry Union of the State of São Paulo. Former elected director of the Industry Federation of the State of São Paulo and Former Foreign Trade Counselor at the National Confederation of Industry.
Rogério Penalva
Rogério worked at XP, Riza Capital, Brasil Plural, Vision Brazil Investments, Patria, Allen Global Advisors LLC, JP Morgan/Chase, and Banco Patrimônio in the areas of M&A and Private Equity. In 2010, Rogério founded Vega, an M&A boutique focused on healthcare, education, and renewable energy. Rogério has led major transactions throughout his career, especially in the healthcare sector, such as DASA/MD1, Hospital Samaritano-RJ, Hospital São Domingos-MA, Hapvida, Fototica, Whirpool, Grupo Ipiranga, Bradespar, Livraria Siciliano, and Atlantica Hotels. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of São Paulo – Polytechnic School.
Maiara Nishiro
Maiara has over 10 years of experience in Regulatory Affairs in Life Sciences and Healthcare. She is a professional accustomed to formulating regulatory strategies and overcoming regulatory challenges. She is a well-rounded professional, with relationships with Health Authorities, experience in Law, and technical knowledge. She holds a degree in Biochemistry from FCF/USP (University of São Paulo, Brazil), a Master’s degree in Clinical Research from Harvard (Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, USA), and an MBA in Business and Project Management from FIA/USP (University of São Paulo, Brazil). Maiara has worked as a senior regulatory manager in many pharmaceutical companies, founded CO.RA, a regulatory and drug development consultancy focused on Latin America, and was recognized as the first to approve a full-spectrum cannabis product in Brazil.
Carolina Gebrin
Carolina holds a degree in Architecture and Urban Planning. From 2010 to 2017, she was a partner at Def Projetos (formerly De Fournier Associados), one of the largest urban planning and architecture firms in Brazil, with a portfolio of over 190 million m² of urbanized area. She was responsible for managing numerous large-scale projects in the country. In 2018, Carolina joined the Panarea Partners team and was responsible for the bidding processes and project and construction management of the Latam Medical Cannabis Hub at Parque de las Ciencias in Montevideo, Uruguay. Carolina worked for two years directly with leading international companies in the medical cannabis sector and gained consistent knowledge in medical cannabis research and development systems, equipment, infrastructure, and laboratory flows. Carolina joined Vettiva in 2020 and serves as Chief Operating Officer.
Audrey Perondi
Audrey holds a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from Fundação Dom Cabral (São Paulo/SP) and a law degree from Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, PUC-RJ. She has solid experience in corporate law with an emphasis on M&A, having worked at one of the largest law firms in Latin America (2015-2018), and also in negotiations and lawsuits related to Intellectual Property issues. Since joining Vettiva, she has been specializing in regulatory business before ANVISA and MAPA. In 2021, she was elected a Full Member of the BRCANN Ethics Committee.
Our experience in Medicinal Cannabis
Our expertise in medical cannabis and healthcare innovation is recognized by leading industry organizations such as BIO LINK, where we hosted the inaugural session on medical cannabis at the largest global conference for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in 2019.
Moreover, we also participated in BIO Latin America in the same year, as well as other key industry conferences in Brazil, Latin America, and the United States.
First session on medical cannabis at BIO (2019), the most prestigious conference in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry
