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Taiwan Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q1 2011
Business Monitor International, Nov 2010, Pages: 100
Taiwan Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, pharmaceutical associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Taiwan's pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.
'Combined sales of prescription drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in Taiwan are forecast to increase from TWD123bn (US$3.81bn) in 2009 to TWD129bn (US$4.10bn) in 2010. Due to the strengthening Taiwanese dollar, this equates to 4.5% growth in local currency terms and 7.4% in US dollar terms. BMI believes that operating in Taiwan’s pharmaceutical market will become more challenging over the medium term, mainly due to regulatory pressures.
Taiwan’s Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Business Environment Ratings score increased from 58.0 in Q410 to 58.7 in Q111. However, the country’s regional ranking fell from sixth to seventh, as a result of Hong Kong’s score increasing from 57.0 to 60.1. Taiwan scores above the regional average score for ‘Country Rewards’, Industry Risks’ and Country Risks’. The country matches the regional average score for ‘Industry Rewards’. Over the medium term, BMI expect Taiwan to fall further down the proprietary ranking system.
Demonstrating the reactivity of the Department of Health, pharmaceutical firms were instructed on October 09 2010 to recall slimming capsules containing sibutramine, which is the active ingredient in Abbott Laboratories’ Meridia. This was just one day after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Abbott had agreed to voluntarily withdraw the oral anorexiant from the US market. Taiwan’s intellectual property regime is below international standards. In August 2010, Taiwan's Legislative Yuan was looking to incorporate extensive changes to the country's Patent Act. The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) has conducted a number of public hearings since 2006 to modify the Patent Act, which was last amended in 2003. The TIPO submitted the draft act to the Legislative Yuan for review on December 11 2009. The draft has been prepared with the aim of enhancing Taiwan's economic and industrial competitiveness, promoting the development of biotechnology and other important technology as well as strengthening the patent examination process.
The US$319mn OTC medicines sector is facing downward pressure but is expected to post a 3.71% CAGR over the next five years. It was announced in September 2010 that all low-strength vitamins – including vitamins A, B, C, D, E, K, nicotinic acid and folic acid – are to be sold as food products rather than drug products in Taiwan from 2011.
Under the new policy, vitamins will be available in supermarkets and convenient stores. Vitamins still in the drug category will have to secure new licences, while those in the food category are required to register with the Department of Health before April 2012. According to an official from the Taiwanese Food and Drug Administration, Wang Hui-Ing, nearly 500 out of 600 low-strength vitamin products need to modify their licences under the new policy.
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