MercadoLibre launches deliveries within an hour, expands pharmacy business in Brazil

Adds details in bullets 1-3

SAO PAULO, Sept 24 (Reuters) - MercadoLibre MELI.O launched product deliveries within an hour in Brazil, starting in the city of Sao Paulo, Fernando Yunes, the firm's executive vice president of commerce, said on Thursday.

The Latin American e-commerce and fintech company also will expand its pharmacy business in the country, with its own pharmacy in Sao Paulo beginning to sell prescription products this month, Yunes said at a company event.

• MercadoLibre will add third-party pharmacies to its e-commerce platform in Brazil as of October, kicking off in Sao Paulo with three drugstore chains, which were not named.

• The company expects to have 20 third-party physical drugstore locations in Sao Paulo on its platform by the end of the year.

• The one-hour service, which started as a test in an undisclosed region of Sao Paulo and is expected to be expanded, will include products such as medications, food and others.

(Reporting by Andre Romani; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)

((fernando.cardoso@thomsonreuters.com;))