News

2008-09-16 Research and Markets: By 2012, This New Report Forecasts Lithuania's
Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Market Value to Reach US$654Mn

(...) Research and Markets
has announced the addition of the "Lithuania Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q3 2008" report to their offering. The Lithuania Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report provides independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Lithuania's pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.

Lithuania's pharmaceutical market was estimated to be worth around US$487mn in 2007, somewhat higher than its neighbour Latvia, and twice as high as the other Baltic state, Estonia. By 2012, the report forecasts the market value to reach US$654mn. In terms of market segmentation, the over-the-counter (OTC) sector will be stimulated by the restrictive reimbursement regime and rising health awareness, although their share of the total will remain relatively static throughout the forecast period, at around 30%. In the meantime, patented medicines are expected to gain market shares at the expense of generics, as the position of multinational companies improves. However, low drug prices in the country will continue to pose one of major barriers to market value growth. In the Business Environment Ranking matrix for Q308, Lithuania continues to share its position with Croatia. Given that Turkey was added to the table in this quarter in the joint seventh place, Lithuania and Croatia moved down one ranking, to thirteenth, out of the 17 regional markets surveyed in Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Despite being larger that its Baltic peers, the Lithuanian pharmaceutical market is one of the smallest in the region, limited by the 3.4mn population and modest annual growth in the forecast period due to high out-of-pocket spending on drugs. On a much more positive note, Lithuania has been removed from the US Trade Representative's Special 301 Report watch list for 2008. Although most of the problematic issues were outside the pharmaceutical arena, it is significant that Lithuania was removed from the watch list due to improvements in intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement and the passage of legislation, following heightened engagement with the US. Similarly, there are encouraging developments in other market sectors. In May 2008, the first steps were made towards potential collaborations between biotechnology companies in Lithuania and the UK, as a delegation from the Baltic state visited a UK research park in order to gain an insight into developing successful research and development (R&D) locations and finding potential research partners. Of the ten biotech players in Lithuania, three of them (namely Fermentas, Sicor and Biocentras) already operate on a global scale, indicating the country's strength in this area.
Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/