Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkey are the most promising countries in terms of the pharmaceutical market, considering the period from today to 2012. This was revealed by an analysis carried out by Espicom Business Intelligence.
The study refers to the Pricewaterhouse Coopers report 'Pharma 2020: The vision: Which path will you take?', which highlighted the dangers that drug companies could run by 'obstinately' not looking beyond the mature, western markets.
In fact, by 2020, pressure on prices and the growing role of citizens in paying for medicines will expose companies to enormous dangers, if they don't look around. The E7 emerging countries, according to Espicom, are the ones that offer the best perspective, thanks to a total population exceeding three billion people, economies that are emerging better than others from the global crisis, but also to growing access to health care and the increase in the incidence of diseases previously considered purely 'Western', such as diabetes and obesity.
Brazil boasts slower-growing prices than the rest of the world, rising demand and a stable currency. China has a growing economy but also a program of expanded access to medicines, which aims to make around 400 products within the reach of all citizens. India, with a population of over a billion people, is seeing its middle class increase, as is access to healthcare. Indonesia has a strong local industry and is becoming a base for multinationals looking for strategic manufacturing sites. In Mexico, despite the uncertainty of the local currency and the general difficulties of the pharmaceutical sector, the laws are becoming more industry-friendly, and we are seeing an increase in the use of generic drugs, with many large companies, such as Sanofi-Aventis and Valeant, entering the Mexican market to exploit its potential. Russia boasts interesting potential, due to the vastness of the territory and the extensive population, but there are still problems with regard to internal laws, which often discriminate against multinationals in favor of local companies. Finally, Turkey: while waiting to join the European Union, it offers an increasingly advanced legislative framework, even if there are many local companies and there are still problems relating to the protection of intellectual property.
Barbara Di Chiara – PharmaKronos – 2 March 2010 – ISSUE 34 – YEAR 4
