Mexico’s largest drugstore chain controls 40% of the market there. The arrival was announced by president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, at the Casa de Nariño.
Víctor González, president of Farmacias Similares and the “Doctor Simi” brand, one of the most recognized in Mexico and which is estimated to control 40% of the market in that country, met in the last few hours with the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, at the Casa de Nariño and announced that the brand will arrive in the country.
“We come with the intention of bringing social and ecological projects such as the Simi Colony and different reforestation projects with Simi Planeta. I also want to give you the great news that Dr. Simi is coming to Colombia. We are extremely excited to not only bring our great brand, but also come to help the Colombian people to seek greater well-being in this country,” said González, in a video published by Andrés Hernández, Consul General of the Republic of Colombia in Mexico.
González met with President Petro in the last hours. No details were known about that meeting, but the president did publish on his X account (formerly Twitter): “Here I am with Dr. Simi. His company is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. “They have been able to reduce the price of medicines in many parts of the world,” the president wrote. Farmacias Similares belongs to the Group for a Better Country (which brings together different companies and private and social institutions). It was established in 1997 and by 2022 it had a presence with more than 1,000 branches throughout Mexico. Today it has more than 6,000 points.
Generics are the basis of Similar Pharmacies. Generic medications are pharmaceutical products that contain the same active ingredients as brand-name medications, but are manufactured and marketed under their chemical names, without being associated with a specific brand. They are identical versions in terms of effectiveness, safety and quality of brand-name drugs, but they are cheaper. This is interesting because generics are a target of the Government's pharmaceutical policy.
However, writes Johnattan García Ruiz, a public health researcher at Harvard University, Farmacias Similares produces generics because “Grupo Por Un País Mejor” also owns a pharmaceutical laboratory, pharmacies and several IPS. “Vertical integration itself,” García details, a practice that also exists in Colombia and that has been criticized on several occasions by the president.
