Generic Drugs Grab Market Share in Mexico

  By Amy Guthrie 
 

MEXICO CITY-Generic medicine has taken the Mexican pharmaceutical market by storm, driving sales growth in recent years, according to Mexican pharmaceutical industry group Canifarma.

Generic medicine represents around 87% of human drug sales in Mexico, up from 30% in 1997, Canifarma director Rafael Gual said in an interview. Mr. Gual added that this percentage is unlikely to rise further.

Canifarma estimates that human medicine sales by its member companies in Mexico last year topped 152.5 billion pesos, or about $9.9 billion, for 5.5% growth versus 2013. The business group represents companies that account for roughly 70% of human medicine sales in Mexico, by volume.

The size of the Mexican market--with a population of more than 120 million people and around 3.8 billion unit sales of medication a year--makes the country a strategic market for multinational pharmaceutical firms such as Pfizer Corp. (PFE), Novartis AG (NVS), Merck & Co. (MRK) and Sanofi (SNY), according to the industry group.

Roughly three-quarters of the medicine sold in Mexico is actually produced in the country. Yet Mexico is also evolving as a hub for research and development, as well as a production center for export markets, Mr. Gual said.

Canadian generic drug firm Apotex, for instance, says its Mexican team has developed 56 drugs over nearly two decades that are sold in Mexico and Central America. Growth in Mexico has been so encouraging that the company is investing $32 million to build a new plant in the country, according to Apotex's Mexican website.

Investment in the sector has steadily grown in recent years, expanding by more than 5% annually, to total $2 billion in 2014, Canifarma estimates. At the same time, exports of human drugs from Mexico have nearly doubled since 2007, to reach $964 million last year.

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