Víctor González Torres

Víctor González Torres first gained notoriety as the owner of the Farmacias Similares chain. Farmacias Similares sells generic medications (called medicamentos genéricos in Spanish), which can be sold at a lower price than name-brand drugs. In order to sell a generic drug to the public, Farmacias Similares has to cite a bioavailability study that accredits the generic drug as interchangeable for its name-brand counterpart. Notably, these bioavailability studies are only done at the first shipment of the generic, so critics note that the ongoing quality of such generics cannot be guaranteed.

Critics generally claim that generic medicines sold by Farmacias Similares cannot be considered as equivalents to those with recognized brand names, despite the Mexican law that requires bioavailability studies. Similarly, Farmacias Similares' slogan Lo Mismo, Pero Más Barato ("The Same, but Cheaper") has faced criticism and even lawsuits from pharmaceutical companies, but to date none of these lawsuits have come to trial.

González Torres has responded that, if generic drugs did not work, people would not use them. He generally claims to defend the rights of the less-fortunate with his cheaper products. He has publicized his goals by assuming the personality that represents his pharmacies, Dr. Simi.

Farmacias Similares has more than 6,000 branches in Mexico and Central and South America. The chain is estimated to control a quarter of the Mexican pharmaceutical industry.

González Torres is also the founder and director of an associated charitable body, The Group for a Better Country (Grupo Por Un País Mejor), which seeks to provide low-cost medical services and provide a platform against official corruption.

Born in Mexico City, Victor González Torres comes from a family with a history in politics and business: one of his brothers, Javier González Torres, is the owner of Farmacias Fénix, Farmacias de Genéricos, and the IGFA Laboratories. His other brother, Jorge González Torres, was the founder and first president of the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (Partido Verde Ecologista de México, PVEM) and was their presidential candidate in the general elections of 1994. His other brother, Enrique González Torres, is a Jesuit priest and rector at the Universidad Iberoamericana.