"Portugal Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Report Q4 2010" now available at Fast Market Research

Sept. 8, 2010 - PRLog -- Portugal's pharmaceutical market was worth EUR3.58bn (US$5.05bn) in 2009, and drug market expenditure is likely to remain at a similar level in 2010. Portugal's pharmaceutical market has experienced a considerable slowdown in growth in recent years, partly because of the market's maturity and its demographic structure, but also because of downward pressure on Portugal's economy caused by the global recession.

Portugal, like many European countries, has been forced to undertake austerity measures in order to calm markets, attract investment, and appease the European Union. Few aspects of Portugal's economy have escaped these changes, and pharmaceuticals are no exception to this rule. From July 1, 2010, standard VAT rates were increased from 20 to 21% and the reduced rate applied to drugs was also raised, from 5 to 6%. The pharmaceutical industry has seen its margins squeezed with the introduction of a new range of price cuts for generic drugs - the degree to which prices are lowered depends upon the reference price for each therapeutic category - during Q310. Generic drugs now cost an average of 15% less than the original drugs and the government has forewarned that further reductions should be expected in 2011. One other measure obliges the manufacturers of new generic drugs to price their medicines at least 5% below the cheapest comparable generic drug already on the market. BMI observes that the Portuguese authorities have not addressed self-medication in this latest wave of cost cutting, as there is considerable room for additional Rx-to-OTC switches as a means of reducing reimbursement costs.

The pharmaceutical industry has accepted these price cuts reluctantly. It is already experiencing delays in payment for drugs delivered to Portuguese hospitals - industry association Apifarma estimates that firms have to wait on average 331 days before they receive payment. Apifarma not only announced that such waits were unacceptable, especially for smaller players that are more vulnerable when liquid assets are held up, but it also went as far as to suggest that the government should pay the pharmaceutical industry interest on its outstanding debts.

Changes to reimbursements have also been revealed, with the government announcing that pensioners in the lowest income bracket will be entitled to 100% reimbursement of the five cheapest drugs in each category. The Portuguese Generics Manufacturers' Association, APOGEN, fears that these new rules will lead to drug shortages.

Price cuts and other austerity measures, as well as the impending patent cliff, mean that the pharmaceutical market has only limited growth potential in the short-to-medium term. BMI forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -1.86% between 2009 and 2014 in local currency terms.

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Report Table of Contents:

Executive Summary
SWOT Analysis
- Portugal Pharmaceuticals And Healthcare Industry SWOT
- Portugal Political SWOT
- Portugal Economic SWOT
Pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings
- Table: Western Europe Pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings For Q410
- Rewards
- Risks
Portugal - Market Summary
Regulatory Regime
- Table: Number Of Marketing Authorisations Issued In Portugal
- Table: Number Of Medicines With Marketing Authorisation
- Parallel Imports
- Recent EU Regulatory Developments
- Pricing Regime
- Generic Drugs
- Reimbursement Regime
- Pharmacoeconomics
Industry Trends And Developments
- Epidemiology
- Healthcare System
- Pharmaceutical Industry
- Recent Company Developments
- Wholesale Sector
- Pharmacy Sector
- Clinical Research
- Medical Devices
Industry Forecast Scenario
- Key Growth Factors - Industry
- Macroeconomic Outlook
- Table: Portugal - Economic Activity
- Prescription Drug Market Forecast
- Patented Drug Market Forecast
- Generic Drug Market Forecast
- Table: Top 10 Generic Drugs By Value In 2008
- OTC Medicine Market Forecast
- Table: Top Ten Non-Prescription Drugs Sold Outside Pharmacies By Volume, January-October 2008
- Pharmaceutical Trade Forecast
- Other Healthcare Data Forecasts
- Key Risks To BMI's Forecasts
Competitive Landscape
- Table: Number Of Pharmaceutical Companies, Wholesalers, Pharmacies, Pharmacy Extensions And Drug Stores In Portugal
Company Profiles
- Hovione
- Bial
- Medinfar
- How We Generate Our Pharmaceutical Industry Forecasts
- Pharmaceuticals Business Environment Ratings
- Risk/Reward Ratings Methodology
- Ratings Overview
- Table: Pharmaceutical Business Environment Indicators
- Weighting
- Table: Weighting Of Components
- Sources
Forecast Tables

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Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. We represent the world's top research publishers and analysts and provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available.