Recently released market study: Philippines Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Report Q3 2010

May 16, 2010 - PRLog -- In our updated Asia Pacific Business Environment Ratings (BER) table for Q310, the Philippines ranks 11th of the 16 countries surveyed, now including Cambodia. While the country's population numbers, low manufacturing costs and its improving economic situation are a draw, the government's stance on intellectual property (IP) regulations and pricing are considered deficient. In fact, in its 2010 version of the Special 301 submission, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) lists the Philippines on its 'Priority Watch List', as in 2009. In addition to concerns over patent linkages, parallel importation and counterfeiting, the association has now also identified issues with the Maximum Drug Retail Price (MDRP) mechanism of the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008, which mandates a 50% retail price cut on select medicines.

Nevertheless, from the start of April 2010, a number of medicines have been added to the MDRP scheme. This second round of price cuts, which range from 11% to 73% (as some companies offered alternative prices to avoid the mandatory cuts), averages 50%. UK major GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) was the most forthcoming drugmaker, proposing four of its products - Seroxat (paroxetine), Tykerb (lapatinib), Ventolin Rotacaps (salbutamol) and Avodart (dutasteride) - for a Government Mediated Access Price (GMAP). It even suggested a price cut for the asthma therapeutic Seretide (fluticasone propionate + salmeterol), which is not yet commercially available in the Philippines. However, in early April 2010 some drugstores were reported not to be compliant with the new list of prices, thus risking hefty fines.

In the meantime, multinational drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis cut the prices of some of its drugs by as much as 50% in the Philippines and Indonesia in a bid to boost drug sales in certain emerging markets. Under a tiered pricing programme, patients on lower incomes in the two countries will be able to purchase drugs such as blockbuster diabetes medicine Lantus (insulin glargine) and cancer drug Taxotere (docetaxel) at the discounted rate. The company hopes to extend the price reductions to other countries in South East Asia, including Thailand, in the near future, with its strategy likely to be mirrored by others.

Despite the price cuts, we maintain our forecast for the Philippines pharmaceutical market, as the products affected represent a minor percentage of the total. We therefore expect the total market value to post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.39% and 8.03% in local currency terms, over our respective five- and ten-year forecast periods. Having been valued at PHP118.90bn (US$2.58bn) in 2009, the market value is projected to increase to PHP169.83bn (US$4.14bn) and PHP257.31bn (US$7.18bn) in 2014 and 2019, respectively, with generics to record the fastest rate of growth. Improving access to medicines for the poor remains one of the key issues in the political arena - ahead of the May 2010 presidential, legislative and local elections - paving the way for an increase in fiscal spending.

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Partial Table of Contents:

Executive Summary
SWOT Analysis
- Philippines Pharmaceutical And Healthcare Industry SWOT
- Philippines Political SWOT
- Philippines Economic SWOT
- Philippines Business Environment SWOT
Pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings
- Table: Asia Pacific - Regional Pharmaceutical Business Environment Rankings For Q310
- Limits of Potential Returns
- Risks to Realisation of Returns
- The Philippines - Market Summary
Regulatory Regime
- Table: History Of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA)
- Recent Regulatory Developments
- Intellectual Property Regime
- IP Shortcomings
- IP Disputes
- Counterfeit Drugs
- Pricing Regime
- Reimbursement Regime
- Recent Pricing Developments
- Medicines Subjected To The March 31 2010 Government Mediated Access Price (GMAP) In The Philippines
- Parallel Trade
- International Cooperation
Industry Trends and Developments
- Epidemiology
- Table: Top 10 Causes Of Mortality In The Philippines
- Communicable Diseases
- Healthcare Sector
- Healthcare Sector Financing
- Corruption
- Medical Tourism
- Biotechnology
- Recent Biotechnology Developments
- Traditional Medicines
- Medical Devices
Industry Forecast Scenario
- Overall Market Forecast
- Key Growth Factors - Industry
- Key Growth Factors - Macroeconomic
- Table: Philippines - Economic Activity
- Prescription Drug Market Forecast
- Table: Top 10 Prescription Brands In The Philippines (MAT September 2007, PHPbn)
- Table: Top 20 Therapeutic Categories In The Philippines (MAT September 2007, PHPbn)
- Patented Product Market Forecast
- Generics Drug Market Forecast
- OTC Medicine Market Forecast
- Table: Top 10 OTC Brands In The Philippines (MAT September 2007, PHPbn)
- Medical Device Market Forecast
- Pharmaceutical Trade Forecast
- Other Healthcare Data Forecasts
- Key Risks to BMI's Forecast Scenario
Competitive Landscape
- Pharmaceutical Industry
- Recent Pharmaceutical Industry Developments
- Pharmaceutical Retail
- Table: Top 20 Leading Pharmaceutical Companies In The Philippines (PHPbn)
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Full Table of Contents is available at:
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