Oct 9 (Reuters) - Latin American e-commerce firm

MercadoLibre ( MELI ) will test the waters for online

pharmaceutical sales through its newly acquired drugstore in

Brazil, the company's local head said on Thursday, a first step

in entering the country's multi-billion-dollar online medicine

market.

In a call with journalists, executive Fernando Lunes added

the firm is also talking with Brazilian authorities to update

the country's regulation for the pharmaceutical sector, which,

according to him, creates operational challenges.