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Australia Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q1 2011
Business Monitor International, Dec 2010, Pages: 90
Australia 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 Australia's pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.
The outlook for Australia’s pharmaceutical market is challenging. Combined sales of prescription drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in Australia are forecast to decrease from AUD10.02bn (US$7.95bn) in 2009 to AUD9.30bn (US$7.48bn) in 2014, primarily as a result of the patent cliff. Since the last update of BMI’s Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Report, they have significantly downgraded their forecast for pharmaceutical sales in Australia.
Like many developed states, Australia is looking to constrain healthcare expenditure, particularly medicine spending. In October 2010, the lower house of parliament passed the National Health Amendment Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Bill 2010. Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) will result in lower-cost medicines through increased pricing transparency by pharmaceutical suppliers.
Once again in line with the developed state trend, generic drug penetration is low in Australia. A study published by the Quality Use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research Centre at the University of South Australia in September 2010 revealed that patients are reluctant to use the generic substitutes of almost all medicines, even after recommendations from pharmacists in Australia. According the study, more than 25% of patients in urban areas declined the option of using generic drugs.
In July 2010, the Australian federal government said it would launch an AUD10mn (US$9mn) campaign to convince consumers that generic medicines are as safe and effective as brand name drugs. It is hoped the scheme will ensure the sustainability of the AUD8bn (US$7bn) PBS, which provides subsidised prescription medicines to citizens.
Given the country's precarious economic outlook, BMI expects the campaign to receive significant support from politicians. Additional funding for the programme is also likely. Over the medium term, BMI project significant upsides for generic drug producers operating in Australia, including Alphapharm, Apotex, Genepharm (Australia) Limited, Hospira and Sigma.
Appreciating this opportunity, South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare Holdings said in August 2010 that it would acquire Australian firm Sigma Pharmaceuticals for AUD900mn (US$811mn) in cash. The purchase price is considerably above the initial AUD707mn (US$637mn) offer made in May 2010 and the subsequent scaled-back bid of AUD648mn (US$584mn), which was tabled following a review of Sigma's troubled financial accounts. In October 2010, Sigma extended its exclusivity period with Aspen to October 29, to allow more time to finalise the terms of deal.
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