Saudi Arabia Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q3 2008

Saudi Arabia accounts for around 65% of pharmaceutical sales in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. BMI forecasts that the market should reach US$2.96bn by the end of 2012. The strongest growth should come over the first half of the forecast period, driven by increased public and private sector wealth thanks to soaring oil prices. Over the course of the forecast period, the government's tough stance on pricing and increased generic penetration - albeit from a low base - is expected to limit market value gains. However, these negatives will not prevent rapid increases in volume consumption on the back of a growing population, increasing personal wealth and increasing chronic disease burden, which should continue to drive market value upwards.

New pharmaceutical pricing regulations, which took effect in February 2008 and resulted in price cuts for around 1,400 prescription drugs may limit the attraction of Saudi Arabia's pharmaceutical market against its GCC neighbours. However, increased GCC integration is likely to mean that drugmakers continue to be attracted to the region.

BMI includes coverage of Saudi Arabia's medical device market for the first time in Q308. A lack of clear regulation makes market access challenging at present. However, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) was put in charge in 2007 and is in the process of drafting guidelines that should help multinationals to know where they stand. At present, US FDA approval is the surest way to access the US$448mn device market. Meanwhile, medical devices are not the only sector for which regulation will be improved. The Ministry of Health has published draft biosimilar regulations, which are available for comment until August 2008.

Massive investment in hospital infrastructure is driving interest in the medical device market, which is almost entirely dependent on imports. In April 2008, multinational device-maker GE Healthcare expanded its joint venture with local distributor El Seif Development, demonstrating that, while direct foreign company presence remains limited by historically strict rules on company ownership, multinationals are increasingly looking to go beyond an import-only presence.

In BMI's updated Business Environment Rankings for Q308, Saudi Arabia is placed seventh, alongside Oman, out of 13 Middle East & Africa (MEA) markets surveyed. Saudi Arabia scores more highly than Oman thanks to its large market. However, its score is held back by a poor score for its market risks category, due to strict pricing regulations and certain intellectual property (IP) concerns.

• Executive Summary
  • Table: Saudi Arabia Pharmaceuticals And Healthcare SW
  • Table: Saudi Arabia Political SWOT
  • Table: Saudi Arabia Economic SWOT
  • Table: Saudi Arabia Business Environment SWOT
• Pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings
  • Table: Middle East And Africa Pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings
• Limits Of Potential Returns
• Risks To Realisation Of Returns
• Saudi Arabia - Market Summary
• Regulatory Regime
• Regional Regulatory Developments
• Free Trade Agreements
• Intellectual Property Developments
• IP Deficiencies
• Pricing And Reimbursement Issues
• Tendering Procedures
  • Table: Saudi Arabia's Import Margins
• Industry Developments
• Epidemiology
• HIV/AIDS
• Healthcare Sector
• Primary Healthcare Provision
• Secondary Healthcare Provision
• Recent Healthcare Provision Developments
• Health Insurance
• Pharmaceutical Sector
• Pharmaceutical Distribution Sector
  • Table: Leading Saudi Arabian Drug Distribution Firms
• Recent Pharmaceutical Company Activities
• Industry Forecast Scenario
• Key Growth Factors - Industry
  • Table: Saudi Arabian Health Expenditure Indicators, 2006-2012
• Overall Market Forecasts
  • Table: Saudi Arabian's Drug Market Indicators, 2006-2012 (US$mn unless otherwise stated)
• Macroeconomic Scenario
  • Table: Saudi Arabia - Economic Activity
• Patented Drug Market Forecast
• Generics Market Forecast
  • Table: Saudi Arabia's Generics Market, 2006-2012
• OTC Market Forecast
  • Table: Saudi Arabia OTC Market, 2006-2012 (US$mn unless otherwise stated)
  • Table: Saudi Arabia's Medical Device Market, 2005-2012 (US$mn unless otherwise stated)
• Export/Import Market Forecasts
  • Table: Saudi Arabia's Export/Import Forecast
• Other Healthcare Data Forecasts
  • Table: Saudi Arabia's Other Healthcare Data And Foreca
• Key Risks To BMI Forecasts
• Competitive Landscape
  • Table: Leading Pharmaceutical Companies In Saudi Arabia
  • Table: Leading Products By Value In Private Saudi Arabian Pharmaceutical Market, Q406 (MAT)
• Company Profiles
• Multinational Company Profiles
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • Novartis
  • Merck & Co
  • Pfizer
  • Sanofi-Aventis
  • Indigenous Company Profiles
  • Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries & Medical Appliances Corp (SPIMACO)
  • TABUK Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
  • Al Jazeera Pharmaceutical Industries (JPI)
• BMI Forecast Modelling
• How We Generate Our Pharmaceutical Industry Forecasts
• Pharmaceutical Industry
• Pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings Methodology
• Ratings Overview
  • Table: Pharmaceutical Business Environment Indicators
• Weighting
  • Table: Weighting Of Components
• Sources