Jennifer Mendoza
Research expert covering health, pharma and medtech
Pharmaceutical industry in Argentina - Statistics & Facts
Argentina is one of the three main markets of pharmaceutical products in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2021, the market value of pharmaceuticals in the South American country reached over six billion U.S. dollars, ranking third among a selection of countries in the region, just below the two leading markets: Brazil and Mexico. That year, the pharmaceutical sector in Argentina directly employed over 40 thousand people, and indirectly provided work to around 120 thousand employees. Meanwhile, the country registered 229 manufacturing units, out of which 48 were owned by multinationals and 181 were national companies.
The pharmaceutical company landscape is led by two main Argentinean firms: Roemmers and Elea Phoenix. In 2021, Roemmers held the top spot in the country's pharmaceutical sector in terms of sales revenue and units sold, with a value of roughly 538 million U.S. dollars and 62 million units. Elea Phoenix, came in second with a sales turnover of approximately 497 million U.S. dollars and more than 52 million units sold. The German multinational Bayer, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country when considering corporate reputation, sold a comparable number of units in Argentina that year.
Argentina’s pharmaceutical landscape
The pharmaceutical landscape in Argentina is characterized by a wide variety of over-the-counter (OTC), and prescription drug categories. These include therapeutic categories such as anti-hypertensive drugs, dermatological drugs, antiviral drugs, and immunosuppressants. In 2022, vaccines were the category with the highest revenue share in the sector, with an estimated 820 million U.S. dollars out of a total of over four billion U.S. dollars for the whole market. Oncology drugs accounted for a similar value, with 650 million U.S. dollars generated that year. Within the OTC segment, skin treatment products, digestive and intestinal remedies, and analgesics were among the main categories.The pharmaceutical company landscape is led by two main Argentinean firms: Roemmers and Elea Phoenix. In 2021, Roemmers held the top spot in the country's pharmaceutical sector in terms of sales revenue and units sold, with a value of roughly 538 million U.S. dollars and 62 million units. Elea Phoenix, came in second with a sales turnover of approximately 497 million U.S. dollars and more than 52 million units sold. The German multinational Bayer, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country when considering corporate reputation, sold a comparable number of units in Argentina that year.
Argentina’s pharmaceutical imports surpass its exports
Despite the two leading pharmaceutical companies in the South American country being Argentinean, imports of pharmaceutical products have exceeded the country’s exports in recent years. In 2021, the trade deficit of the segment reached approximately 2.42 billion U.S. dollars, up from around 1.44 billion U.S. dollars reported a year earlier, and 1.3 billion U.S. dollars reported in 2014. In fact, imports of pharmaceutical products to Argentina have recently shown an overall increasing trend and were worth over three billion U.S. dollars in 2021, a growth driven by the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. That year, the United States and China were the leading countries of origin for these goods, accounting together for nearly a third of the pharmaceutical products import value into Argentina.
