$25 Bill Latin American Pharma Market In 2000

Pharmaceuticals made up a market valued in US dollars of some $16.14 billion in 1993, up 20.9% on the previous year, which itself was 18.9% higher than in 1991, according to Definitive Data Tactics' 1994 Global Pharmaceutical Market Review. Continued growth is forecast for the region, with the market expected to reach a value of around $25 billion by the year 2000, the review notes.

Breaking down the region, DDT says that Brazil, the largest of the markets, accounted for 31% of the total in 1993, followed by Mexico at 25%, Argentina taking 21%, Colombia 6% and Venezuela 4%, with the remaining 13% spread around the other Latin American countries.

Again using 1993 figures, the review shows that the leading therapeutic category in the Latin American region was non-steroidal antirheumatic (plain) products, with a value of $710.5 million. Next came non-narcotic analgesics valued at $677.7 million, then oral broad-spectrum antibiotics with $639.3 million sales, ACE inhibitors (plain) at $308.1 million and oral cephalosporins at $286.6 million. The study lists sales for the top 50 therapeutic categories.