We were able to start off our morning slightly later than the past couple of days, which was a relief for all of us trying to catch up on some sleep. To begin the day, we traveled by bus to Andrómaco Laboratory, a pharmaceutical company in Buenos Aires. Andrómaco specializes in producing and distributing cosmetic products such as ointments, lotions and creams, with a majority of them being sold over the counter. One of the managers of the company gave us a tour of the entire facility, allowing us to see every step of the production process, from the raw materials they use to make the products to the machines used to package the finished products for shipment. I was amazed by the intricate process they used to make the product lines run as efficiently as possible. The workers in charge of the setup have to make sure that everything is set perfectly for each different product that they produce, but they do it so quickly and easily.

However, there are challenges that Andrómaco faces when it comes to the success of their company. One of these problems comes from the major difference between their gross profit and real profit. This is due to the fact that 30% of their total production within the factory goes straight towards samples that they give to their consumers and wholesalers. These samples are free, thus they do not make any real profit from them, meaning they only make 70% of the value of their products sold, rather than the entire 100%. This is a challenge for pharmaceutical industry as a whole, because in order to get consumers and wholesalers to buy their product, they have to be able to try it first, so the pharma companies ensure that they gear a decent percentage towards this. Inflation is another major challenge for Andrómaco, because they buy a lot of their equipment for the factory through outsourcing from foreign countries. This means they spend a lot more money than if all of the equipment and materials were produced domestically, because the Argentine peso has a lot less value in relation to the currency within foreign countries. In addition, Andrómaco does not have a research and development sector, making it difficult to compete with higher level pharmaceutical companies – domestically and globally – who have the funds to highly innovate their products and processes. While Andrómaco is is still successful, some of the regulations and other uncontrollable factors that influence the pharmaceutical industry can make it hard to gain a competitive advantage.

After our tour of the Andrómaco facility, we traveled to an area called San Telmo, one of the older parts of Buenos Aires. While there, we had lunch at an authentic Argentine barbecue restaurant called Desnivel, which had some of the best meat I have ever tasted. In addition to the restaurant, we were able to walk around San Telmo, and it was one of the coolest areas we have visited so far. There were multiple flea markets and authentic shops along the street with things you would not be able to find anywhere else. It really gave us a feel for the true culture of Buenos Aires.

Tomorrow we have more site visits to health centers and facilities around the area, so it will be interesting to see the distinctions between those and everywhere else we have visited so far.