Brazil State-Run Pharmacy Sales Outpace Private Sector

Private sector pharmacy groups in Brazil have highlighted growing competition from cheap, government-supplied drugs. The products are provided under Brazil's Popular Pharmacy programme, which supplies roughly 1,200 products indicated for major diseases at prices up to 90% below those in the private retail sector.

Statistics for Rio de Janeiro show that in the state's 16 government-run pharmacies, 1.78mn units of drugs were sold since the scheme's inauguration in late 2003. In the same period, sales volume at private sector outlets fell by roughly 14%, at a time when retail drug sales are increasing strongly in Brazil.

Despite private pharmacies' objections, the so-far limited scheme has been received enthusiastically by the public, and it could allow for the expansion of the drug market in general, although mainly at the low-cost end of the scale. Nevertheless, the research-based sector is unlikely to welcome the programme's heavy use of generic medicines, which has enabled a typical saving of two-thirds on the cost of treatment of widely reported disorders such as diabetes and hypertension.