Manufacturers are betting at retail to grow in 2014

SÃO PAULO-against the grain of most pharmaceutical companies with operations in Brazil, the American Eli Lilly remains unconnected to the expansion of generic drugs, thread that already travels approximately r $ 15 billion per year. ?Our focus remains innovation. We have no interest in generics?, says Julio Cesar Gay-Ger, President of Lilly in the country.
The company does not rule out, however, develop in the future similar medications (also known as generic brand), but this is not yet a priority sector for the group, according to the Executive.
Brazil's leader in sales of medicines for erectile dysfunction, Cialis, the pharmacist is about to lose a fat slice of their revenue with the product, whose patent expires in 2015. Last year, sales of the medicine reached R $ 264,4 million in the country, which ensured the participation of lab 24% in revenue, according to data from IMS Health consulting. Towards 2012, sales rose 6.9 percent.
The erectile dysfunction market moved about $ 1.1 billion in 2013 in Brazil, an increase of 28.6% for 2012. Since losing the patent in 2010, Viagra (Pfizer's American), the main competitor of Cialis, saw its sales fall back sharply with the entry of generic versions of the product.
The same fate is reserved to Lilly, but the company believes that the entry of innovative products can offset losses with patents that expire. Other company products with expired patents, such as Cymbalta (antidepressant), Prozac (antidepressant) and Zyprexa (schizophrenia), are considered mature medicines.
More innovation
The pharmacist has 13 innovative products in its pipeline (under development) in phase 3 (more advanced research stage) for different therapies?, says Gay-Ger.
The company bet their chips in products for treating diabetes and Oncology. The pharmacist also has portfolio for cardiovascular treatments and depression.
With global sales of $ 22.6 billion in 2012, the company invests about 20 percent of its sales in research and development. The group does not disclose sales by country, but, according to Gay-Ger, the Brazilian subsidiary is expected to register a growth of 8% in 2013 on the previous year.
Specializing in men's health, the pharmacist began marketing since the end of last year the medicine Axeron (for replacement of the hormone testosterone). The product is indicated to treat Hypogonadism, chronic disease that affects about 20% of men, which has among the main symptoms to loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, physical fatigue and mood swings.
Another product, Livalo (cholesterol) is also marketed since the end of last year. Lilly closed partnership with national pharmaceutical Biolab to distribute the product (Statin) in the country, developed by the Japanese Kowa.
Factory
In the country, the company is investing $ 15 million to renew the packaging sector of your factory installed in the city of São Paulo. Are currently manufactured 10 million packages per year.
The expectation is to increase the capacity of the factory. In this unit are produced the drugs Cialis, Evista (osteoporosis), Prozac (antidepressant) and Zyprexa (schizophrenia).
The Brazilian unit is one of the most modern in Latin America, after receiving heavy contributions between 2003 and 2004. Currently, 5% of the production of Zyprexa, Cialis and Evista is exported to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. The factory produces from 50 to 60 million tablets per year. The information is from the newspaper O Estado de s. Paulo.