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Hong Kong Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Report Q1 2008
Business Monitor International, Feb 2008, Pages: 62
The Hong Kong Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report provides independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Hong Kongs pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.
Hong Kong’s pharmaceutical market should be seen as moderate opportunity for drug-makers, primarily because of its small size. Positives include free pricing for the private sector, an ageing population, preference for branded medicines and an urban demographic profile. Meanwhile, a sizeable counterfeit industry and erosion of potential market share to traditional Chinese medicines will deter investment and product launches. Sales of prescription drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) preparations in Hong Kong reached US$807mn and we expect this figure to exceed US$1bn by 2012.
During Q407, the author upwardly revised its forecast for healthcare spending in Hong Kong after far-reaching reforms were announced that will require extra expenditure. The government revealed that the budgeted outlay on recurrent medical and health services will rise from 15% to 17% in 2011-2012. We now expect spending to reach US$18.28bn in 2012, up 1.9% on our previous figure of US$17.92bn. Using population projections provided by our Country Risk team (2012 = 7.5mn), this equates to annual per capita spending of US$2,437 - the second highest in Asia Pacific, at just over US$1,000, behind Japan. Merck & Co’s breakthrough cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, came to attention in November 2007, when it was revealed that the product had been sold to doctors for HKD750 (US$96), but then sold on to patients for HKD1,500-2000 (US$192-256). While not illegal, this practice highlights the buoyant private sector.
By Q407, the government was studying the details of a proposal to make both medical insurance and medical savings mandatory for workers. Under the plan, an employee has to foot HKD300-500 (US$38-64) monthly for insurance and a further 3-5% of their salary for a medical savings account. The rationale behind making insurance mandatory is risk-pooling. When everyone chips in a small amount and this pool of money is brought together, those insured will be able to access a wide range of high-quality medical services. The government wants to collaborate with private insurance companies to lower administrative costs, and allow the market to offer competitive services to the population.
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