Colombia pharmaceuticals sales reached $2.24bn in 2009, with 6.9% CAGR forecast

In Business Monitor International's third quarter 2010 Business Environment Ratings (BER) table for the expanding Americas matrix, Colombia occupies sixth position (up from seventh previously). BMI calculates pharmaceutical sales in Colombia reached a value of 4,819 billion Colombia pesos ($2.24 billion) in 2009, and expects the market to post a steady compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.91% in local currency terms through to 2014.

Although Colombia's expanding population represents a major draw to foreign pharmaceutical players, the lack of patent linkage and a range of intellectual property (IP) and pricing and reimbursement deficiencies will continue to obstruct increasing levels of involvement, says BMI.

Additionally, per-capita spending is low, while state provision remains short of funding. In fact, the country's health care system was recently declared on the brink of collapse, with the authorities aiming to rectify the problems through a basket of measures, some of which are proving deeply unpopular.