National generics contribute 76% to growth in the Venezuelan pharmaceutical market

By Raylí Luján

The pharmaceutical market in Venezuela has maintained a growth trend during the last five years, sustained mainly by nationally produced generic drugs amid the loss of purchasing power.

A report on the national pharmaceutical industry released by the LETI group with the support of IQVIA showed an increase of 5.3% in the total market between January and April compared to the same period last year.

This figure shows an increase to 59.5 million units, which translates into a growth of 2.9 million units.

Generic drugs accounted for 76% of this figure, with an evolution of 2.2 million units and 22.5 million units in the domestic market.

The study’s results also indicated that domestic production had facilitated access to drugs from presentations with reduced content and, therefore, lower cost to the consumer, currently representing 17% of the total market.

These presentations represent 45% of the generic market, becoming a positive alternative during the last years for those who consume it and have a low budget in the face of an annualized inflation that stands at 440% and a minimum salary of US$5 per month.

“The contribution of the national laboratories, manufacturers of generic drugs, sustains this growth and counteracts the drop in the performance of imported products in this area”, states the report sent to the media.

Along with this increase in the industry, pharmaceutical stores have also proliferated in the last year as a reflection of flexibility and diversity after the national economic crisis.

There are more than 7,350 establishments nationwide, including independent and large chains.

The shortage of medicines in Venezuela stood at 85% in 2018.

In January of this year, it closed with an overall rate of 31.7% according to the monitoring carried out by the Civil Association Convite to the active ingredients that make up the baskets of essential drugs to treat convulsions, acute respiratory infections, depression, diabetes, hypertension, and diarrhea.

In LETI’s report together with IQVIA during the first quarter, it was evidenced that the laboratories with local manufacturers boosted the growth of the therapeutic classes related to the pathologies of greater morbidity in the country, such as cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, genitourinary, nervous, gastrointestinal and metabolic systems.

Concerning the therapies associated with Covid-19, the study revealed that they decreased by 8.5% while those usually consumed in the country grew by 8.32%.

With information from Bloomberg

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