Argentina's Drug Industry Lags in Terms of Innovation, According to New Report.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c86525) has announced the addition of Argentina Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q1 2008 to their offering.

The Argentina Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report provides independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Argentina's pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.

At first glance, Argentina's pharmaceutical market was one of the most dynamic in 2007, growing an estimated 12.0% year-on-year in dollar terms and 14.2% in local currency terms. BMI's updated five year forecast through 2012 sees average annual dollar growth rate of 4.5% per annum in the total pharmaceutical market. Statistics released in mid-2007 by the INDEC official statistics agency indicated the market was surging, with a reported 39.5% surge in Q107 combined domestic sales and exports, racking up a combined ARS1.769bn (US$574mn). Data for the first nine months of the year appeared more grounded, showing domestic production up a still robust 14.1% year-on-year. Part of this appears to be due to a weak performance in Q106, which pushed up the numbers a year later. But the numbers also gloss over more systematic problems facing the Argentine market.

Assuming they are reliable, the Q108 numbers reflect a 98% surge in exports and reflect above all the boosted production of domestic producers, who are benefiting from the relative weakness of the Argentine peso in international markets. Perhaps tellingly, a number of Argentine drugmakers are eyeing projects abroad, including Laboratorios Bago, which is reportedly investing up to US$10mn in a factory in Pakistan while Gador is looking at Southeast Asia. Amid a domestic environment of price controls and lax but slowly tightening intellectual property (IP) rules, local producers are diversifying their exposure. And while some multinationals, notably Sanofi Aventis, are particularly bullish on the local market, there is no rush by firms that exited the market during the 2002 financial crisis to re-establish a production presence. The less attractive reality of the market is reflected by Argentina's ranking of eighth out of 10 in BMI's new Business Environment Rankings for the Americas.

More optimistically, the victory of Christina Fernandez de Kirchner in October 2007 elections should promise continuity. In mid-November, she unveiled a cabinet with seven of 11 ministers retaining their posts, while putting in a new Minister of Economy. The previous minister had been the focus of much discontent from business, including the pharmaceutical industry, for his role in enforcing "voluntary" price controls and oversight of questionable data put out by INDEC, particularly regarding healthcare pricing. It is still too early to say if the new president will make a departure from the expansionary and interventionist economic policies of the previous government. But few believe it will.

The recent successes of local biotech group Biosidus aside, Argentina's drug industry lags in terms of innovation, along with the country as a whole. A recent study by CEPAL measured Argentina's research and development (R&D) investment at a mere 0.44% of GDP, less than half the per-capita spending of Brazil. This, like the catch-up growth in the pharmaceutical market, is a legacy of the 2002 crisis. Some two-thirds of R&D is from public bodies, with the private sector lagging. This reflects, perhaps, a surfeit of economic meddling but a lack of long-term incentives for industry, particularly a plan to wean local drugmakers off copy drugs and promote an internationally competitive true generics industry.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c86525

Source: Business Monitor International