With more than 90 years of life Universal Pharmacy It has consolidated in the field, highlighting for its personalized service and its specialization in master formulas. We talked with Dolores Guevara, general manager of the company, about market changes, their adaptation to them and the secret to remain in force in the Peruvian pharmaceutical sector.
What are master formulas?
They are individual or prepared recipes individualized by the doctor for a particular ailment that you do not find, for example, in commercial products. It has happened to us that they ask for doses for neonate patients or small babies born with congenital heart disease. Most products are for adults, but you have to give minimal doses to a baby. We make these conversions, reduce the dose for milligrams that the patient needs. It has also happened to us that foreign patients forgot their medicines or ended, so you have to prepare the dose they take out.
What diseases are master formulas used? Who prepares them?
Basically in dermatology, urology and pediatrics. Pharmaceutical chemists are responsible for preparing the master formulas and also the pharmacy technicians supervised by pharmaceutical chemists. There is quality control, in our case we are very rigorous in that aspect. Additionally, when you come to the plant you can see how they prepare. The sale is with a medical recipe.
How old are in the universal pharmacy market?
This year we have turned 91 years in the market. We start with a small pharmacy here in emancipation, which was previously called Jirón Arequipa, and little by little we have been growing and having a wide assortment of products. We always listen to the patient and their needs, we seek to meet quality and warmth. Currently, we have 15 stores in the department of Lima.
What is the secret of the validity of Universal Pharmacy?
Innovate, we started many years ago with the technological part, with computers, and the last thing we have done just before Pandemia is to start working with electronic commerce. Last year we have reformulated our website and we are with the VTEX platform. We are working to give the best customer service and arrive in the shortest possible time the medicines they request.
What is the projection of universal pharmacies?
Continue to grow, especially in the technological part. The new generations work hard with apps, computer and time is the most important. The AI is also a technology that we want to add in all our operations, improve in logistics to be able to go to provinces and always have the latest products of the pharmaceutical market.
If I have a medical recipe and I would like to order, do I necessarily have to get to the plant?
No, you can call or send for your WhatsApp. On the website we cannot receive the order for regulatory issues. You have to progress little by little. Hopefully the authorities also help us implement electronic recipes.
How has the master formula market evolved?
Pharmacies began with master formulas. Then, with the entry of more and more laboratories, it decreased. In recent years, with dermatology and because there will always be patients with treatments that need specific formulas, they have resurfaced. A few years ago, we were the first private sector pharmacy to prepare formulas based on cannabis. We are authorized for it and we always look for new formulas to be at the forefront.
What should the patient take into account when asking for a master formula?
You should always bring your medical ballot, consult, ask you to give your name well written because each preparation comes out with the patient’s data, the doctor’s name and the recommended ingredients. Each preparation has a validity time.
How long is universal pharmacy in making these formulas?
On average it takes three hours. That is the average elaboration, but in each place you can consult. The pharmaceutical chemist quotes it, the client approves and sends it electronically to the central so that it begins to elaborate. The patient picks it up the next day at the same place where he quoted and paid his preparation. We have 80% of the inputs that are needed to make prepared, in addition to the quality and security with which they are made.
