Brazil Pharma: A Viability Problem

In Brazil, pharmaceuticals run the clear risk of becoming non-viable, Pedro Zidoi, president of the sector association, ABCFarma, has told a national conference. The industry and pharmacies are failing to achieve the prices envisaged in the 1994 economic plan, and there is a shortage of liquidity and viability, he said.

The distribution and pharmacy sales network is inadequate, he said; there are simply too few points of sale, and the position has now been reached when pharmaceuticals are simply not profitable. Mr Zidoi said it was essential to set up a system of effective drug commercialization and a distribution network to improve competitiveness. Also, he said, new forms of management are needed.

Meanwhile, the Bigfarma consultancy is to launch a pilot network of pharmacies and drugstores bearing its name, report local media sources; the project is to start in the state of Minas Gerais in October. The aim is to create a major drug sales network within a year, with around 150 points of sale. Bigfarma director Joao Batista Filho said the company would also work with existing pharmacies to achieve a higher level of management to improve services and better prices.