Cooperation among national drug manufacturers: Asociación Latinoamericana de Industrias Farmacéuticas (ALIFAR)

This article examines the background to the establishment of the Latin American Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (ALIFAR) and describes its activities and achievements. The national firms in Latin America lacked an institutionalized organization to present their collective viewpoints to governments and international organizations when they held important deliberations affecting the development of the pharmaceutical industry. Transnational corporations, on the other hand, were supported very effectively by a global organization. The creation of ALIFAR was, therefore, a logical and a strategical step in the fight for survival of the national firms in Latin America. Since its establishment in November 1980, ALIFAR has shown significant results and encouraging promise, which are described in the article and which may serve as useful guidelines for action in other developing countries.