A DIVERSIFIED INTENTION

Sara Masmoudi, CEO of Kilani Group, has led one of Tunisia's most dynamic growth stories through a strategy anchored in acquisitions, partnerships, and diversification, while keeping healthcare and pharmaceuticals at its heart. Today, she is continuing the group's legacy into its next chapter with bold ambitions to expand deeper into Africa and the Middle East.

- RAWAN HASSAN

From the turquoise Mediterranean coastline and the golden sands of the Sahara to the Atlas Mountains in the north, Tunisia has long been a land of contrasts—and of progress.

In the 1980s, the country emerged at the forefront of healthcare transformation, rolling out mass vaccination campaigns and ambitious public health programs that significantly improved key health indicators. Infant mortality fell from around 90 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1986, while life expectancy rose to nearly 58 years, according to the U.S. Department of State.

That same year, Kilani Group was founded by brothers Lassaad and Rafik Kilani, laying its roots in pharmaceuticals, with their first company KIPROPHA. What began with local manufacturing in healthcare through a single licensing agreement and a few generics quickly evolved into partnerships with global players including GSK, Merck, Novartis, Abbott, and Servier. This foundation soon expanded into a broader strategy spanning industrial activity, distribution, and services, in pharmaceuticals and healthcare products.

Over time, the group expanded into nine companies in healthcare, including Teriak, founded in Tunisia in 1996 as Kilani’s second pharmaceutical manufacturer. With two production sites, Teriak produces both licensed and generic medicines, supported by licensors among the world’s top eight pharmaceutical firms. Today, it has more than 270 registered medicines in Tunisia.