With a rapidly emerging market second only to China and a growth rate exceeding that of the global average, South America is  an attractive business destination for the global pharmaceutical  industry.

According to a Deutsche Bank market research report, the Latin American pharma market is worth more than $60 billion per year, which is equivalent to seven per cent  of global pharma sales.

The growing South American markets  offer lucrative opportunities for pharma companies from across the world. The region which covers Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela are all markets of the future. Growth in the Latin American markets is expected to be strong with Brazil and Mexico amongst the most emerging pharma markets in the world.

With a rapid economic growth, huge population of 200 million, increase in healthcare spendings and a booming generic drug sector, Brazil is one of the most important and fastest growing global emerging markets. As the largest country in Latin America and  the leading  pharmaceutical market in the continent, Brazil holds huge opportunities for drug manufacturers around the world

Ranked as the third largest global pharma market in the Americas behind the US and Canada, the Brazilian pharmaceutical market has proven particularly robust, with 2010 sales reaching near US$26 billion, according to the January 2011 Pharma Voice report, Ola Brazil. Additionally, pharma production in the area has increased by 50 per cent from 2005 to 2010. Brazil has also the largest prescription volume in the Latin American region.  

Being one of the biggest pharmaceutical markets in the world, Brazil is preparing to build a solid growth base in the generics market. With the worldwide generics market growing by around 17 per cent  per annum with approximately US$80 billion in sales and projections for growth to US$120 billion in 2012, Brazil is well placed to capitalise on this growth.

In this context the  fifth edition of CPhI South America, the biggest and most complete event for pharmaceutical ingredients in Latin America, which will be taking  place from August 21 to 23, 2012 at the Transamérica Expo Center in São Paulo, Brazil has a special significance. CPhI South America will once again be co-located with ICSE South America for outsourcing services and BioPh for companies working in biotechnical solutions.

This is the only dedicated pharmaceutical ingredients event in the region, and in 2012, the pharma portfolio will be complemented by a new co-location with the PTX Expo for industrial powder technology. Both domestic and international attendance to the South American pharma portfolio of events promises to offer extensive business opportunities  for both exhibitors and attendees. The event brings together technology, science, content and skilled networking all in one place.

Says Haf Cennydd, Pharma Brand Director at UBM Live, organizer of  CPhI South America event,“As the only dedicated pharmaceutical ingredients event in the region, CPhI South America offers unique business opportunities to both domestic and international exhibitors and attendees. It is once again being co-located with ICSE South America, a dedicated platform for outsourcing services, and BioPh, which serves companies working in the biotech sector. 2012 will also feature a new co-located show, PTX Expo, for industrial powder technology.”

“Perhaps most exciting to visitors is the revised opening hours from 10 am to 6 pm, which allows guests more flexibility in the morning hours. We are also featuring a new ‘matchmaking’ programme to allow visitors and exhibitors to pre-arrange meetings well before coming onsite to the events. Additionally, for the first time ever, there will be a conference room featured on the show floor among the exhibitor booths. All of these changes have been made with our visitors in mind and are designed to streamline their experience and encourage additional networking opportunities”.

“Throughout the planning phases of the South America Pharma Portfolio of events, we have focused a great deal on ways to enhance the visitor experience while also increasing attendance. This includes new alignments with international road shows and associations in Argentina and Chile, as well as working to create new partnerships within associations in other Latin and Central American countries, including Columbia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela”, she ads.

The 2012 programme has attracted more than 250 exhibitors, including high profile names like M.CASSAB, Opção Phoenix, Alchem, Dromex, Finzleberg, Química Anastácio and Nortec. The events also have the exclusive support of ABRIFAR (The Brazilian Association of Distributors and Importers of Pharmaceutical Raw Materials), as well as research and information support from leading market intelligence provider, IMS Health. These relationships serve to ensure that CPhI, ICSE and BioPh South America offer relevant programme content that takes advantage of current and projected industry information.

The event takes place at a time when  the South American pharmaceutical market is having an  extremely positive climate. Brazil has barely been affected by the worldwide economic crisis and is attracting attention from industries such as medications and cosmetics that have achieved excellent results in the‘C-Class’ market of 100 million consumers, made up of middle-class families with consumer aspirations. Health is becoming an important issue for families and this social segment translates into 42 per cent of consumer medication purchases with an average of six  to eight per cent of income spent on health.

Another reason for the industry to turn its attention to Brazil is that the government is investing in pharmacies, which has acted as a lever for production and consumption of medications that were previously harder to access.

“The positive factors at the moment are many, and favour the market becoming stronger. CPhI is helping exhibitors make the most of this promising economic climate and leverage the prosperous pharmaceutical raw materials market,” says CPhI South America event manager Cassiano Facchinetti.

CPhI South America will have special pavilions such as BioPh, a biopharmaceutical exhibition aimed at biotechnology, an area of interest for companies who are looking to invest in innovation and development of new technologies. Additionally, ICSE South America, is a meeting point for outsourcing services, which has been increasingly used by the pharmaceutical industry. A sign of this has been the significant growth shown by ICSE each year, to meet the demand for Brazilian and overseas pharmaceutical companies for solutions in outsourcing.

ICSE South America, is a pavilion within CPhI South America, presenting the growing sector of outsourcing services and contract manufacturing of the pharma industry. The contract manufacturing and clinical trials sectors have developed rapidly in South America and the advantages of this region have become more and more apparent to multinational companies.

ICSE South America is the perfect place to meet global companies offering contract manufacturing, contract research and outsourcing solutions such as clinical trails and analytical services in one place. The participants will have the opportunity to meet the decision-makers in person and discover the most efficient outsourcings solutions for your company.

Returning for its fourth year, BioPh is a leading biopharmaceutical pavilion focussing on biotechnology and related fields. Alongside CPhI South America, it brings together key players, to drive forward the industry, who are key to the increasingly important role being played by biotechnology as the innovation engine for the pharmaceutical industry as a whole.

The traditional relationship between big pharma and little biotech has undergone radical change, with big pharma now looking to little biotech to strengthen and develop its own pipelines with new developments and advancements.

BioPh will allow the participants to connect through exhibition stands, seminars and meetings with those select, relevant professionals that your company is looking for within the biopharmaceutical industry. Biotech and Biopharma companies can also source their contract services at the event thus saving time and money in attending separate events.

The visitors at the event would include CEOs and top executives, purchase executives, manufacturing engineers of pharmaceutical companies, R&D professionals, pharma machinery suppliers & distributors, pharma consultants, scientists and government sector experts.

The exhibitors’ profile includes suppliers of turnkey pharma plants, machinery & equipment for treatment of pharma raw materials, analytical instruments & lab reagents, testing instruments, microscopes, weighing machines, APIs, tableting & capsulation unit, packaging materials, glassware, and pharma publications.

Since its first edition in 2008, CPhI South America has seen considerable increase in attendee numbers, reaching 4,400 last year, a growth of 63 per cent in comparison with the previous year, making it the biggest event aimed at the pharmaceutical market in Latin America, and the only event of its kind in South America. Among the exhibitors are heavyweight players in the market such as M Cassab, Alchem, Dromex, Filnzelberg, Química Anastácio and Nortec.

Plans to bring CPhI to South America were first considered back in 2005 / 06. It was then clear that the region, led by Brazil, was poised to see steep rise in pharma demand and  there was a clear potential for a dedicated event to serve the industry sectors that would be expanding.

CPhI and P-MEC South America debuted in Rio de Janeiro in August 2008, receiving very positive responses from the industry and resulting in a nomination for 'Best Trade Launch Show Award' by the Association of Event Organisers (AEO).

In 2009, CPhI South America moved to Transamerica Expo Center, in São Paulo, with 206 exhibitors participating from 18 different countries. A record 2356 unique visitors attended  2010 CPhI South America events, representing an increase of 17 per cent over the 2009 attendance levels. Now the  2012 event is all set to create new records bringing in  a wealth of opportunities to the pharmaceutical industry as a whole.