Mexican Pharma Industry's "Exceptional" 1995

Despite many difficulties, Mexico's drug industry did exceptionally well in 1995, says a report by the grupo Financiero Bancomer. While the national economy contracted 7% in the year, the industry saw overall growth of 13.2%.

1995 did see a downturn in domestic drug sales, mainly due to unemployment and inflation of slightly over 50%, but the report says this was compensated by a significant rise in drug exports, mainly to Central and latin American markets.

Bancomer says that Mexico's drug industry is among the world's top 10 but it remains dominated by foreign companies and it is totally fragmented; not one of the 300 companies in the sector controls over 6% of sales. However, there has been a gradual improvement since 1990, due to price deregulation which has stimulated growth and diversity. The subsequent price rises have been a steady cause of complaint by customers, but have also offset the effects of rising raw materials costs.