Greece Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q2 2008

Greece has a highly developed pharmaceutical market, typified by low generic penetration, the presence of many international drugmakers and a mature intellectual property (IP) environment. However, there are signs that suggest the market has some evolving to do. A change in the reimbursement system in the late 1990s failed to bring down expenditure and the country is still tainted by a parallel importation court case. Accordingly, BMI is projecting 3-4% growth to 2012, when the overall pharmaceutical market will be worth US$6.85bn.

Compared to its Central and Eastern European (CEE) neighbours, Greece's pharmaceutical sector is somewhat of an anomaly, being more akin to Western Europe. Generic drugs only account for 11.5% of the market and patented products make up 81.1% of sales. The over-the-counter (OTC) sub-sector - at 7.9% of the market - is under-developed, but this should expand in the medium term, following the removal of such products from the reimbursement scheme.

In the Q208 Pharmaceutical and Healthcare BMI Business Environment Ranking for the CEE region, Greece is still in pole position out of the 15 regional markets surveyed. The country's pharmaceutical rating is 63, four points higher than the second-ranked country, the Czech Republic, and unchanged from the previous quarter.

The main development of the past few months has been the expansionist activities of local firm Alapis.

Following the purchases of domestic rival Farmalex in mid-2007, Alapis acquired a 49% stake in KP Marinopoulos, one of the largest local pharmaceutical wholesalers, during Q407. Then, in February 2008, Alapis bought Labomed, the Athens-based company specialising in the trade of medical, laboratory and diagnostic equipment, for EUR2mn (US$2.9mn). Alapis acquired another local company, Lamda Applied Pharmaceuticals Laboratory for Applied Research, for EUR475,000 (US$695,000).

A human papillomavirus vaccine (either Merck & Co's Gardasil or GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix) was added to the national immunisation calendar in October 2007. At the time, Belgium Denmark and Spain were the only other European nations that had decided to do likewise.

• Executive Summary
• Greece Pharmaceuticals And Healthcare Industry SWOT
• Greece Political SWOT
• Greece Economic SWOT
• Greece Business Environment SWOT
• Pharmaceutical Business Environment Rating
  • Table: Central And Eastern Europe Pharmaceutical And Healthcare Business Environment Rankings
• Limits Of Potential Returns
• Risks To Realisation Of Returns
• Greece - Market Summary
• Regulatory Regime
• Intellectual Property Regime
• Pricing Regime
  • Table: Pharmaceutical Pricing In Greece
• Reimbursement Regime
• Parallel Trade
• Industry Developments
• Health Profile
• Healthcare System
• Secondary Care
• Healthcare Expenditure
• Healthcare Reforms
• Pharmaceutical Industry
• Wholesale And Retail Sectors
• Recent Pharmaceutical Industry Developments
• Industry Forecast Scenario
• Overall Market Forecast
  • Table: Greece's Drug Market Indicators, 2006-2012
• Key Growth Factors - Industry
  • Table: Greece's Health Expenditure Indicators, 2006-2012
• Key Growth Factors - Macroeconomic
• A Four Percent Zenith
  • Table: ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
• Prescription Market Forecast
  • Table: Greece's Prescription Drugs Market Indicators, 2006-2012 (US$mn unless otherwise stated)
• OTC Market Forecast
  • Table: Greece's OTC Drugs Market Indicators, 2006-2012 (US$mn unless otherwise stated)
• Generics And Patented Market Forecasts
  • Table: Greece's Generics And Patented Market Indicators, 2006-2012
• Export/Import Forecasts
  • Table: Greece's Pharmaceuticals Exports And Imports Indicators, 2006-2012 (US$mn)
• Other Healthcare Data Forecasts
  • Table: Greece Other Healthcare Data Forecasts
• Key Risks To BMI Forecasts
• Competitive Landscape
  • Table Top 10 Best-Selling Pharmaceuticals In Greece, 2
  • Table: Top 10 Pharmaceutical Companies In Greece By Sales, 2006
• Company Monitor
• Multinational Company Profiles
• GlaxoSmithKline
• Pfizer
• Novartis
• Sanofi-Aventis
• Merck & Co
• Abbott Laboratories
• Indigenous Company Profiles
• Vianex
• Lavipharm
• Gerolymatos SA
• Genesis Pharma
• Genepharm
• Pharmathen Pharmaceuticals
• Kleva
• BMI Forecast Modelling
• How We Generate Our Industry Forecasts
• Pharmaceutical Industry
• Pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings Methodology
• Ratings Overview
  • Table: Pharmaceutical Business Environment Indicators
• Weighting
  • Table: Weighting Of Components
• Sources