Mexico's pharmaceuticals market forecast to grow to $14.9 billion by 2014

By end 2009, the pharmaceutical market in Mexico will have reached a value of 114.8 billion Mexican pesos ($8.6 billion), up from 109.1 billion pesos in 2008. Growth will continue to 2014, reaching 153.2 billion pesos ($14.9 billion), according to a new review of the market from Business Monitor International.

Per-capita drug spending will rise from $79 in 2009 to $133 by 2014. While the rising population should drive demand, BMI notes that the patterns of drug spending in Mexico are changing.

BMI's analyst expects total drug market expenditure in Mexico to increase to 226.9 billion pesos by 2019, noting: 'Our outlook accounts for the expected increase in participation in the Seguro Popular health insurance scheme, which is being promoted by the government. In line with increased medical coverage, BMI also believes people will be more likely to purchase medicines from licensed legal premises instead of resorting to the black market. This should also remove some of the demand for counterfeits, and will marginally reduce the proportion of over-the-counter drugs (OTC) in the total drug market.'