According to a report published in SemanarioUniversidad.com prices of medicines in Costa Rica are as much as 50% more expensive than in the rest of Latin America “due to the advantages that international labs have which fix high prices and also to the power of the companies that distribute the medicines”.

Several studies including one from the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEIC) confirm that there is no real control on how the final prices are established, and the prices for the exact same medicine can vary considerably from one pharmacy to the next in as much as 10 thousand colones (approx. $17 USD).

The chain of supply in the private market begins with international and national labs that sell to providers (some of which are part of the same corporations) and these to the drugstores.

Another report affirms that three providers hoard 60% of the sales.

Sometimes one provider will have the exclusivity to import and distribute a product of a specific brand through a contract signed with the lab that produces it so now one else can bring the brand to the country.

There is no prohibition for a person (physical or legal person) to form part of the entire supply chain.

A study by SwissCore Group reports that currently, the medicine market in Costa Rica moves over $850 million in the country, out of which $250 million are consumed by the Social Security

Service and the remaining $650 million are from the private market.

It is known that many Costa Ricans find ways to get their medication from Nicaragua where the prices are considerably lower.

Even though there have been several bills to regulate the prices of medicines in the country none of these have progressed and meanwhile the prices in this industry remain unregulated.