Briefing on targeted oncology drug launches in Latin American

The Latin American market for oncology products is very closely threaded through government procurement programs, which tend to stifle innovation, according to a briefing presentation on the Latin American health care market by analysts, Frost & Sullivan.

They argue that because government departments tend to purchase anticancer drugs according to price rather than quality, local generic manufacturers tend to be favored over research-based drugmakers. One consequence of this is the discouragement of patent innovation and brand-marketing by local firms. The emergence of private insurance channels, accounting for up to 25% of health care expenditures in some of the region's countries, provides space for branded products to be marketed.

Frost & Sullivan, a New York USA-based global consulting firm, organized the briefing via its Healthcare Group. Details can be found on-line at www.frost.com.