Mercado Libre Targets Chile for In-House Pharmacy Expansion

SANTIAGO — Latin American e-commerce giant Mercado Libre (NASDAQ: MELI) has held at least six meetings with Chilean health officials to pitch an online-only, in-house pharmacy model. The proposed expansion would require local regulatory changes or reinterpretations, as current Chilean laws do not permit online-only drugstores without a physical presence.

The strategic push into Chile builds directly on Mercado Libre's March 2026 pilot launch of over-the-counter medicine sales in São Paulo, Brazil. That pilot was made possible after the company acquired the physical drugstore chain "Farmácia Cuidamos" (formerly Cuidamos Farma) in 2025. By transitioning from a pure third-party marketplace to a direct first-party (1P) pharmaceutical retailer, the e-commerce giant is targeting a high-margin sector that poses a direct threat to traditional brick-and-mortar drugstore chains across Latin America.

This aggressive retail expansion comes as Latin American equity markets show broad strength. In Brazil stock market today, the benchmark Ibovespa today gained 2.44% to reach 177,547.56 points, supported by heavyweights like Vale (VALE3) rising 3.96% to 75.1 BRL, Petrobras (PETR4) climbing 2.21% to 42.58 BRL, and Itaú Unibanco (ITUB4) ticking up 0.87% to 42.9 BRL. Investors tracking the region's retail landscape via the Brazil ETF (EWZ) are closely watching how Mercado Libre's disruptive 1P pharmacy model will impact established physical drugstore operators, such as Brazilian pharmacy giants Raia Drogasil (RADL3) and Pague Menos (PGMN3).