Healthy Skepticism Library item: 10491
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Publication type: news
The Australian Pharmaceuticals Market is Expected to Exceed a Value of US $11.35 bn in 2010
PharmaLive 2007 Jun 14
http://www.pharmalive.com/News/index.cfm?articleid=451244&categoryid=10
Full text:
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c59542) has announced the addition of Australia Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Report Q4 2006 to their offering.
The Australia Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Report provides independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Australia’s pharmaceuticals & healthcare industry.
The Australian pharmaceutical market is highly developed, although the country’s small population allows for only limited expansion in the short term. Prescription drugs account for the bulk of demand, or over 80% of total sales, with the sector’s market share expected to stagnate over the next five years. The role of generics in this segment is, however, likely to strengthen, with the sector gaining around four percentage points on the 2005 figure of 11%. Demographic factors will drive the growth of central nervous system, cardiovascular and metabolic therapeutic areas in particular, although the demand will be increasingly met by imports. By 2010, the trade balance will, therefore, shift further in favour of foreign made medicines.
Growth is expected in the pharmaceuticals market in 2006 at around 6%, with the market exceeding a value of US$11.35 bn in 2010. The government’s focus on healthcare cost containment, which includes a higher financial burden on the patient and price cuts under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), will stimulate the development of the generics sector. The over-the-counter (OTC) market will gain significantly in terms of value – driven by greater health awareness and regulatory changes – but remain relatively constant as a percentage of the total market, illustrating the strength of overall market growth.
In regional terms, Australia’s pharmaceuticals market continues to show the greatest long-term potential in the Asia Pacific as an investment prospect, ahead of both Japan and the emerging and sizeable markets of China and India. Australia leads the newly adjusted Business Environment Rankings for Asia. However, the country has been listed on the PhRMA’s 2006 ‘priority watch list’ as a result of an alleged deterioration in patent and data protections for pharmaceuticals, as well as what are seen as discriminatory pricing and reimbursement policies pertaining to novel medicines. Further negotiations over Australia’s free trade agreement (FTA) with the US are under way, with the Australian government recently agreeing to consider US demands, which include eliminating certain important provisions regarding generics.
The local pharmaceutical industry is undergoing consolidation and change, including the uncoupling of business units, in order to adapt to the country’s fast-moving operating environment. Having purchased fellow domestic generic producer Arrow Pharmaceuticals, leading domestic contract manufacturer Sigma continues to consider further acquisitions, with Australian Pharmaceutical Industries being the key target. Multinationals are proceeding with their commitment to the Australian market, despite difficulties regarding pricing and reimbursement. In the meantime, large foreign generic players – from India in particular – are making considerable inroads into the local market. 0
Companies Mentioned: – Pfizer – Sanofi-Aventis – GlaxoSmithKline – Merck & Co – Novartis – Roche – AstraZeneca – Eli Lilly – Mayne Pharma – Sigma Pharmaceuticals – Australian Pharmaceutical Industries – Alphapharm – Herron Pharmaceuticals
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c59542
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