Brazil Drug Retail: Noise Around Regulation — No Material Changes In Place; Enhanced Entry Point

Research evidence excerpt

J P M O R G A N

Latin America Equity Research

10 August 2026

Brazil Drug Retail

Noise Around Regulation — No Material Changes In

Place; Enhanced Entry Point

The News. RD Saúde (RADL3; OW) and Pague Menos (PGMN3; UW) are

underperforming Ibov by ~3.0p.p. The move follows the publication of Anvisa's

revocation of previous restrictions on medicine commercialization and advertising

involving digital platforms including iFood, Rappi and MercadoLibre. The

decision largely implements legislation approved in March, which allowed

licensed pharmacies to use digital and e-commerce platforms for medicine

logistics and delivery. This decision from March represented a change from the

previous regulatory framework from 2009, which was built around a direct

relationship between consumers and licensed pharmacies for remote dispensing.

In practice, medicines are already available through apps such as iFood, with

pharmacies acting as the underlying sellers. Today’s publication removes legacy

restrictions on specific platforms but does not establish an unrestricted

marketplace model, being somewhat procedural following. Besides, although

being published in today’s official gazette, this news was announced last week.

Our Take. We see today’s underperformance as unwarranted and would be buyers

of RADL3 on the weakness. The decision does not create a new sales channel or

materially change the model already available through delivery apps. We also see

a broader marketplace model as unlikely. The March legislation limited the role of

digital platforms to logistics and delivery, while dispensing remains with licensed

pharmacies. This suggests the agency is more likely to adopt a restrictive

implementation that materially expands the role of marketplaces. We therefore see

no change to competitive dynamics or estimates and believe today’s share-price

reaction overstates the implications of the announcement.

LatAm Retail & Healthcare

Joseph Giordano AC

(55-11) 4950-3020

Banco J.P. Morgan S.A.

Guilherme A. Vilela, CFA

(55-11) 4950-3059

Banco J.P. Morgan S.A.

Nicolas Larrain

(55-11) 4950-3472

Banco J.P. Morgan S.A.

Giovanni Vescovi

(55-11) 4950-2901

Banco J.P. Morgan S.A.

Froylan Mendez

…