Tougher drug patent regimes in Brazil, and need for emerging market growth, luring back western companies, says FT

Some 30 years after they pulled out of the Brazil, western pharmaceutical companies are rushing back to expand and make acquisitions, just as domestic groups begin to consolidate and spread abroad, writes Andrew Jack in the UK’s Financial Times, which yesterday published a supplement on the country, which has just voted in a new President.

Brazil’s retail pharmaceutical market was valued at $12.6 billion in 2009, having grown by 14.3% between 2008 and 2009, and is expected to see further strong growth. Key growth drivers include the expanding population, improved access to healthcare, and the burgeoning middle class which is increasingly opting for branded drugs. Consequently, Big Pharma is targeting Brazil to off-set slowing sales growth in more developed markets.

Recent acquisitions