(Reuters) – Latin American e-commerce company MercadoLibre will test the waters of online pharmaceutical sales in Brazil through its newly acquired pharmacy, its local head said on Thursday, a first step toward entering the country’s multibillion-dollar online medicine market.
Uruguay-based MercadoLibre, Latin America’s largest company by market capitalization, already sells drugs online in Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia, but not in Brazil, its largest market.
In a call with reporters, director Fernando Yunes confirmed recent media reports that MercadoLibre had acquired a physical pharmacy in Brazil, a requirement of local law for companies selling pharmaceutical products.
Yunes said the company has no plans to create a nationwide pharmacy chain. Another executive added that the goal is to allow small and medium-sized pharmacies to sell on MercadoLibre’s e-commerce platform in Brazil, not to compete directly with pharmaceutical companies.
“The pharmaceutical sector is the only one in Brazil in which we do not operate. It is a sector in which we see potential for improving access,” Yunes said. “We want to be a marketplace, we want pharmacies to sell on MercadoLibre.”
Next steps will depend on the performance of its first pharmacy, executives said.
MercadoLibre is also talking with Brazilian authorities to update the country’s regulations relating to the pharmaceutical sector, which creates operational challenges, Yunes noted.
“The Brazilian law was created a long time ago. We believe it needs to be modernized. This will allow pharmacies to have better access to customers,” he added.
(Reporting by Michael Susin; writing by Fernando Cardoso; editing by Kylie Madry and Natalia Siniawski)
