Drug sales rise 16 percent in first quarter

The pharmaceutical sales in Brazil grew by 15.8% in the first quarter, reaching r $ 14.8 billion. In the period were sold 724.3 million of medicines, which represented a high of 9.6% compared to the same period last year.
According to data from IMS Health consulting the month of March was the best result in the quarter, when the industry sold $ 5.2 billion. "The level of employment and income of the Brazilian population did not fall and that helps a lot. We still have social classes who bought drugs and now start to buy, "says Nelson Mussolini, Chief Executive of SINDUSFARMA, the Union of Pharmaceutical Industry in the State of São Paulo in Brazil.
The survey shows that the largest revenue growth in the first three months of the year took place in the segment of generics, which keeps pulling the industry performance. The generic manufacturing companies sold $ 3.6 billion in the period, high 21% annual. Were 202 million units sold of these medicines, which represented an improvement of 28%. The recipe with the brand name remedies, in turn, grew 17%, while sales of reference products advanced 11%.
For Telma Salles, President of Pro generics, the Brazilian Association of generic drug Industries, is a fundamental factor for the growth of generics the biggest population access to medicines and the greater supply of products: generics cover today 95% of diseases listed by the Ministry of health as the most affect Brazilian population. Generic Pro data with the national agency of sanitary surveillance (ANVISA) show that there are 436 generic molecules available on the market, with 21,151 presentations. In February 2008, the market had 331, molecules with 13,002 presentations.
"With the increase in the portfolio of generics, the marks of the manufacturers have increasingly consolidated in the market", explains the Executive. According to IMS Health, the EMS Group, businessman Carlos Sanchez, continues to lead the ranking of the largest generic producers in the country, followed by the Medley (the French Sanofi) and Neo (Hypermarcas). In the general ranking, the largest lab in the country in revenue is also the EMS Group, followed by the Chemical and Neo Aché.
The IMS Health shows that in March, the participation of the industry's total sales in generics was 25%, while the brand-name drugs accounted for 45% of the results, and the reference, 30%. For Telma, on the good performance, generics must close this year with participation of 30%.
Although the pharmaceutical industry have grown compared to the previous year, in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2013, the results fell back. As revealed in the survey, values, sales fell 2.3%, while in units, lost 1.9%. "This is a normal variation of the market, since the last quarter of the year is naturally stronger," explains Mussolini. The Executive predicts that pharmaceutical sales should grow between 10 percent and 12 percent this year. Last year, the sector registered revenue of R $ 57.6 billion, up 16%.