The latest news from the Colombian pharma market, including a new (legal) US cannabis deal; Bayer’s updated regional strategy; a pandemic-induced OTC product boom; Faes Farma’s growth; and why prostate cancer remains a significant concern in the country.
Colombia-Based Clever Leaves To Donate $25 Million Worth Of Cannabis To U.S. Researchers – Forbes
Cannabis and other drugs have been illegally smuggled into the United States from Colombia for decades, but global cannabis cultivator Clever Leaves, which has a grow facility in the Andes Mountains, plans to import $25 million worth of pharmaceutical-grade marijuana to supply researchers in the U.S.
Bayer seeks to innovate in the pharmaceutical industry – Portafolio (in Spanish)
https://www.portafolio.co/negocios/empresas/bayer-busca-innovar-en-la-industria-farmaceutica-553599
Bayer’s idea in the remainder of 2021 is to continue to maintain the success it had in the first quarter in its three businesses: consumer, pharmaceutical and agriculture, and also occupy a good position in the areas of nutrition and health.
This was revealed by Christian Meyer, president of Bayer in the Andean countries, Central America and the Caribbean.
During 2020, the demand for personal care products increased in Colombia – Semana (in Spanish)
Among the topics that are part of the ‘covid-19 conversation’, personal care is one of the most talked about. From the beginning, prevention campaigns have been oriented towards the importance of hygiene to avoid the spread of the virus.
It was in this context, according to the Rappi report, that the demand for products in the Personal Care and Beauty category increased. The platform points out that between 2020 and 2021, this line had an increase in demand of 47.31 percent.
Faes Farma will base part of its growth in Latin America – El Pais (in Spanish)
https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2021/06/16/companias/1623863802_909115.html
Faes Farma will support part of its future growth in Latin America, where in 2020 it achieved revenues of 36 million that doubled those of 2019. They accounted for 9.47% of its total sales, thanks to the activity of its subsidiaries in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. This data includes sales contributed by the Nigerian market in Africa.
Talking about prostate cancer is still taboo – El Universal (in Spanish)
https://www.eluniversal.com.co/salud/hablar-de-cancer-de-prostata-sigue-siendo-tabu-DD4858252
In June, World Prostate Cancer month is commemorated, a pathology that, by 2020, had an increase of about 34% in men diagnosed with respect to the previous year. Although it is a disease that was recognized in the mid-nineteenth century, it is still a sensitive issue for many men, since myths have been created around it.
According to SISPRO, prostate cancer is the type of cancer with the highest incidence in the country. For Dr. Giovanny Montoya, medical director of Astellas Farma Colombia, “the late diagnosis of the disease continues to be one of the most serious problems facing the national public health and proof of this is the mortality rate that increased 2.36 points in a single anus”. This, according to the expert, because there is still ignorance of its signs and symptoms and fear on the part of the male population in front of the methods to diagnose it, such as the digital rectal examination.
