South and Central America Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Market Closing Gap on Northern Neighbors

Monday 3 September 2012, Amsterdam

The active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) market in the Americas was worth a staggering $46 bn in 2011, with North America accounting for over 88% of it. But thanks to rapidly expanding economies and improvements in healthcare, South and Central America (SCA) are set to take a more substantial chunk in the future.

The SCA region has one of the fastest growing API markets in the world, with a
growing demand for generic and biologic medications. Mexico is currently the largest market in the region, but thanks to an aging population and a strengthening healthcare system, Brazil is expected to overtake by 2017.

SCA countries are becoming increasingly open to global drug producers and supporting the manufacture of medications at home through investments. Many governments in the region are aware of the huge potential of generics and are providing financial backing as well as promoting pharmaceutical growth through the employment of various programs and schemes.

This region is also home to an expanding aging population and is witnessing an increase in lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and obesity – further driving the demand for healthcare and pharmaceutical treatments.

The API market in South and Central America was valued at $5.4 billion in 2011 and is expected to climb at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of nearly 13% to reach 11.1 bn in 2017. As the North American API market is expected to grow at a more modest CAGR of 4.4%, the SCA will increase its share of the total
Americas market to 17.4% from the 11.7% stake held in 2011.