Summary
Chile's pharmaceutical market continues to perform strongly. However, growth in the sector has been uneven; the uptake of generic medicines - including branded copies - has far outpacing the remainder of the market. According to IMS Health, Chile's retail drug market in 2005 expanded by 5% in unit terms, 11% in local currency terms and 23% in US dollar terms, reaching a total of US$857mn. By the end of the 2006-2010 forecast period, BMI expects market value to reach US$1.16bn.
Generics and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines performed well in 2005, respectively reaching US$134mn and US$167mn, according to BMI estimates. The off-patent prescription sector recorded annualised sales growth of 20% in the year, thanks mainly to new government healthcare schemes, continued demand from the institutional market and - according to some observers -
lax enforcement of patent and bioequivalence legislation by national market regulator ISP. In October 2006, it was reported that the French company Sanofi-Aventis had successfully defended its patent for the blood thinner Plavix (clopidogrel) in Chile. However, it is estimated that only 5 3 medicines are patented in Chile, of which 14 are copied by local firms under 82 different brand names.
The strength of the OTC market, which expanded by 10% in 2005, is more surprising. This may owe much to local definitions for the sector as the 'Popular Market', comprising all medicines sold without a doctor script - including many drugs officially classified as prescription-only. Furthermore, in Chile, OTCs are sold behind the counter in pharmacies, entrenching the role of the pharmacist in consumer preferences and stifling the potential of the self-medication market. The vested interests of the large pharmacy chains have been blamed for this structural deficiency in the market.
In BMI's Business Environment Ranking, Chile's position has been substantially downgraded from second to fourth place. This reflects the rising threat to international research-based pharmaceutical companies from illicit copying and increasingly lax regulation in the country. However, the growth potential of the Chilean market remains solid, despite high consumption levels, with the country's stability and increasing prosperity set to drive significant sales value growth in the coming years.
The market share of US firms continues to decline in Chile in unit terms. This reflects the lack of a direct manufacturing presence and the dominance of indigenous firms, which account for more than 80% of the market in volume terms and 55% in value terms. Although the market share of European firms is stable, Chile's homegrown producers continue to exploit the lax domestic regulatory environment and target new markets in the region. At the same time, a number of low-cost generic firms of Asian origin have recently entered the market, principally as clients of the government's new minimum-guarantee healthcare plan, known as AUGE. Download a PDF or order a print copy and get three quarterly updates.
|
