Depending on your viewpoint, generic drugs represent either the future of the global pharmaceutical industry or an irritating drain on the revenues of R&D based companies. The sector continues to grow in importance, fuelled by the twin pressures of therapeutically significant products coming off patent and health provider demands for lower prices. Analysts in industry and commerce must have a clear understanding of the threats and opportunities in key markets worldwide.

Generics market reports from Espicom Business Intelligence are produced by a multi-lingual editorial team with over 25 years pharmaceutical market experience. And when that experience is combined with one of the best healthcare market databases around, and informed by direct access to over 1200 companies and organisations worldwide, you have unbeatable, reliable, qualified and enriched market analysis. The Mexican pharmaceutical market, valued at US$11.3 billion in 2005, is the leading Latin American market, and the tenth largest worldwide. Bioequivalent generics, however, are not yet widely used, accounting for less than 3% of the market.

The government is keen to promote generics in an effort to contain costs, but physicians and patients are less familiar with them. Generic substitution by pharmacists is not allowed unless specified by the prescriber.

2005 is a year of pharmaceutical regulatory changes in Mexico. In January, the Senate approved the reform of Article 376 of the General Health Law, which means that product registrations are valid for a five-year period and bioequivalence standards for generics are now compulsory.

Counterfeiting and copycat products are historically rife in the market, with many local manufacturers fulfilling this demand. The government is keen to reverse this trend, however, and establish a more internationally compliant industry.