LATIN AMERICAN OTC SALES WILL BE $4.8B IN 2000

10 July 1994

Total sales of self-medication products in the four largest Latin American markets - Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico - are forecast to grow from $2.8 billion in 1993 to $4.8 billion by the year 2000, according to a new study from IMS Pharma Strategy Group. The sales figures are calculated at manufacturers selling prices and include price growth over the forecast period.

In a new report entitled OTC 2000: Latin America, IMS points out that there are two distinct over-the-counter sectors in Latin America, comprising true OTC market of free-sale products that can be advertised to the public, and the significantly larger area of prescription drugs that are sold over the counter without a prescription. The latter practice of self-prescription is wide-spread in the region, and most prescription medicines - except a few controlled substances - can be openly purchased in pharmacies in this way.

More OTC To Be Defined The number of legally-defined OTCs permitted in the first group is usually quite small (only a few hundred per country) and this has been one of the factors holding back development of the OTC market. Nevertheless, says IMS, it is expected that over the next few years governments will begin to introduce new legislation to provide a clearer definition of OTCs and to expand the number and types of products in this category.

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