Saudi Arabia Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q4 2009

In BMI's updated Business Environment Rankings (BER), Saudi Arabia is ranked second, out of the 17 Middle East and African (MEA) markets surveyed. The country's score is propped up by its sizeable and wealthy population as well as a steady forecast annual growth of its drug expenditure. Over the forecast period, the Saudi pharmaceutical market is expected to post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.66% in both US dollar and local currency terms. At consumer prices, we expect spending in this sector to increase from SAR9.94bn (US$2.65bn) in 2008 to SAR13.09bn (US$3.49bn) by 2013. However, strict price controls, alongside biased regulatory and intellectual property (IP) regimes designed to protect the local industry will have a negative impact on the market development, as will the need to contain costs in healthcare.

Nevertheless, the fact that the Saudi drug market accounts for around 65% of pharmaceutical sales in the wider Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region will continue to draw foreign companies. Additionally, despite the government's commitment to reducing its healthcare financial burden ??