Piribo, the online destination for business intelligence for the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, has now added a report which forecasts that the Chilean pharmaceutical market will show a total value of US$1.84 billion by 2012.
“Chile Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q3 2008” which is available at http://www.piribo.com/
Factors driving the market include expanding healthcare coverage, increased state spending and broader economic growth. The study warns however that there are ongoing obstacles to market entry for research-based pharmaceutical manufacturers such as strike actions, drought and spikes in energy prices.
Authors do point out as well that despite the challenges facing the current government, Chile remains a country of relatively clean governance, stability and economic openness. Additionally, it has ratified Free-Trade Agreement (FTA) with the U.S.
The study finds that Chile's lack of progress on IP means foreign direct investment in the sector remains limited. It states that while there have been recent partnership deals including U.S. medical device company Thermo Fisher Scientific with Chile's Alta Tecnologa to promote its informatics lines in Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, most activity consists of Chilean firms expanding into smaller and less regulated markets.
Analysts say that political pressure is growing to take action against alleged price gouging by retail pharmacies - despite Chile's relatively low drug prices. They cite a June study which showed differences between the prices paid by the state to wholesalers and the retail prices offered by the three retail pharmacy chains that control 93% of the market - Salcobrand, Cruz Verde and Farmacias Ahumada.
The study finds that the three chains remain the focus of an ongoing probe by the country's economic prosecutor, FNE. And that any move to break the market power of the pharmacies would represent the biggest shake up in the Chilean market for many years.
“Chile Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q3 2008” is available in pdf format from Piribo.
For more information, go to:
http://www.piribo.com/
Piribo product ID: BMI120
