Brazil’s Pharma Market to Approach “$30 billion by 2021”

The pharmaceutical market in Brazil is predicted to rise from $25.5 billion in 2016 to $29.9 billion in 2021-a growth rate of 3.5%-according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

The company’s latest report states that Brazil’s key drivers include changing demographics, as a growing population of elderly citizens is likely to increase the frequency of chronic and lifestyle diseases. When combined with the availability of universal healthcare and advancements in pharmaceutical and medical technology, this is likely to drive demand for healthcare services.

Local pharma companies are also seeing improved market opportunities. Usually, Brazil’s pharmaceuticals space has remained mostly reliant on imports, with its biotechnology sector highly dependent on imported raw materials and active ingredients for generic drugs. Government initiatives such as the Growth Acceleration Program and the Greater Brazil Plan were introduced to increase domestic production. The former is focused on modernizing public infrastructure, while the latter encourages local production of innovative drugs and promotes public-private partnerships in the form of technology transfer to public pharma laboratories for the development of higher-priced biosimilars.