Purpose – This paper fills a gap in burgeoning emerging country multinational company (EMNC) literatures by offering a regionwide picture of changes occurring across one sector: pharmaceuticals. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the entry of Indian firms in the Latin American pharmaceutical market since the late 1990s. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis builds on a multimethod approach. Over 80 interviews with firm managers, policy makers and regulators are informed by a national database showing the relative importance of Indian exports in generics, similares (branded generics), public, and bulk chemical markets. Findings – The paper's findings are twofold: first, contrary to popular intuition regarding developing EMNC activity – which suggests that firms from the developing world have competitive advantages in other developing countries – Indian pharmaceutical firms have learned that operating in a weak institutional environment does not confer specific market advantages. Second, Indian EMNCs have assumed both symbiotic and antagonistic roles, simultaneously cooperating and competing with local firms. Research limitations/implications – The data are drawn from one industry, across one regional market. Future research could extend the approach, to investigate the southerndirected strategies of EMNCs in other industries. Practical implications – The findings of this paper suggest that EMNC managers should not rely on advantages typically described in EMNC literatures. The paper also suggests that public health and regulatory policy in Latin America should take into account the diversification of inputs and strength of Asian bulk chemical suppliers. Originality/value – This paper enriches current EMNC literatures in which there is a dearth of research on EMNC approaches in emerging markets. © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited