Global drug sales are expected to grow steadily in 2009 as a result of slowdown in pharma sales in the US and the lack of new drugs.
The annual forecast by IMS Health unveiled that the growth of worldwide pharmaceutical sales is expected to be stable in 2009, corresponding to a feeble growth of 1% to 2% recorded in the US, as a result of fewer new drug launches, generic competition and deepening global economic crisis, as per the news published by reuters.
The double-digit growth in the emerging markets will accelerate the growth of the world’s largest market and consequently, the global market will probably grow 4.5% to 5.5% in 2009. Also, sales are expected to exceed $820 Billion in the coming year. Despite the weakening economy and very few new product launches, the US is still projected to generate $292-$302 Billion in 2009.
The major reason behind the sluggish growth of the worldwide pharma industry is the slowdown in pharmaceutical sales in the US, which is the biggest pharma market of the world. The growth of pharma sales in the US is expected to remain much lower than that forecasted in 2008.
Further, the economic meltdown and the lack of new product launches will lead the pharma sales to show weak growth in the next year as well. Pharmaceuticals are generally very flexible towards the economic turmoil, but this time, consumers have reversed the trend as they’re cutting expenditure on pharmaceuticals even.
Sales are also suffering because insurers are not covering the new drugs and thus, consumers are getting more inclined towards the cheaper generic drugs.
Moreover, in 2009, the pharma market is expected to face various problems like multibillion-dollar drugs losing patent protection, growing impact of regulators and compensation on the healthcare decisions and increasing role of niche products.
The drastic slowdown is helping restructuring the industry by impelling the pharma companies to pay more attention and resources to emerging markets such as India, Brazil and China.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “The financial crisis in the US will make the global pharmaceutical sector to witness a slowdown in 2009. Moreover, due to the market factors, which have gained pace over the past years, 2009 is expected to see altogether a new face of the global pharma market.”
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