Just Released: "Poland Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Report Q2 2010"

March 25, 2010 - PRLog -- As the third-largest market in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), on face value Poland remains one of the biggest opportunities for multinational pharmaceutical companies. Per capita spending reached US$272.80 in 2008, highlighting a growing use of pharmaceuticals, although access to innovative drugs remains limited. In this Q409 report, BMI has introduced a new proprietary 10-year drug expenditure forecast model. Implementing this model with macroeconomic and disease burden projections, BMI forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.41% through to 2018. In BMI's Pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings for Q409, Poland ranks third in CEE, behind Greece and Czech Republic. While headline market performance remains strong, a number of factors have constrained a higher score. The most prominent of these are market risks, including long delays for drug approvals, a generic-oriented reimbursement list and weak intellectual property (IP) regime. While these factors are improving, regulatory conditions remain inferior to other countries. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)'s 2009 submission to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) refers to considerable procedural barriers in obtaining preliminary injunctions against patent infringements, and further that damages awarded for IP violations were inadequate - a contravention of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Other key concerns include the presence of 'ghost' drugs, whereby generic copies of patented pharmaceuticals were approved prior to EU accession in 2004. The potential for re-registering these medicines in 2008 were highlighted by the report, although BMI notes that Poland made progress in filtering out these drugs at the beginning of 2009. As the backlog of approval requests are added to the list, BMI expects the patented market share to rise. While in the short term this depends on improved efficiencies in the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products (URPL) and fiscal backing, over the next ten years patients should gain access to a much greater proportion of innovative medicines. Supply chain margins for prescription pharmaceuticals in Poland could become fixed, under new legislation drafted by the Ministry of Health. The creation of rigid mark-ups is supported by the generic drugs body, the Polish Pharmaceutical Industry Employers' Association, which believes variability in prices can lead to unequal access to medicines and higher prices for consumers. In the wholesale sector, leading firm Torfarm looks set to further improve its market share after the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) approved its takeover of fellow distributor Prosper. If completed, the deal would leave the enlarged company with a market share of close to 30%. The UOKiK found that the merger would not lead to a substantial reduction in competition.

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