Pharmaceutical Sales Increases Slow Down

[HenryTo]

This is interesting: "China was the fastest growing market, growing 28 percent to $9.5 billion, boosted by faster economic growth and greater wealth.

"Any pharmaceutical company that doesn't have a ten-year strategy for China is well behind and can't afford to miss this important new opportunity for growth," said Aitken."

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Pharmaceutical Sales Increases Slow Down
Wednesday March 9, 3:02 am ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Worldwide prescription drug industry sales last year grew at their slowest rate since 1998, hurt by government pressure to reduce prices, concerns over drug safety and competition from cheap generics, according to data from IMS Health.
Global sales rose 7 percent in 2004 to $550 billion, of which nearly 45 percent came from North America. In 2003, sales grew 10 percent.

The decline reflects the continuing woes of an industry beset by the loss of patent protection on some of its biggest-selling drugs, a dearth of new products, price pressure and slowing earnings growth.

While 82 drugs had annual sales of more than $1 billion in 2004, 17 more than the year before, 11 came from biotechnology companies and 12 were drugs treating specialist diseases such as cancer, schizophrenia and HIV.

"Historically, the story has been that to be a blockbuster it had to a primary care drug or one treating a chronic condition," said Murray Aitken, senior vice president of corporate strategy at IMS. "This is no longer the case. Specialist area doesn't have to mean small sales."

China was the fastest growing market, growing 28 percent to $9.5 billion, boosted by faster economic growth and greater wealth.

"Any pharmaceutical company that doesn't have a ten-year strategy for China is well behind and can't afford to miss this important new opportunity for growth," said Aitken.

Aitken said China will continue to be the fastest growing market for at least the next four years, with a compound annual growth rate of 13 percent to 16 percent through 2008.

Global sales increases over the same period will remain little changed at between 6 percent and 9 percent, Aitken said, with demand from an aging population offsetting price cuts and a potential lengthening of the drug approval process following Merck & Co. Inc.'s (NYSE:MRK - News) withdrawal of its painkiller Vioxx.

Cholesterol and triglyceride reducers remained the top selling drugs in the world, with sales of $30.2 billion, up nearly 12 percent over 2003. Pfizer Inc.'s (NYSE:PFE - News) cholesterol drug Lipitor remained the world's biggest-selling, with sales of some $12 billion, IMS said.

Among the fastest growing drug classes, cancer drug sales rose nearly 17 percent to $23.8 billion while sales of a class of hypertension drugs known as Angiotensin-II inhibitors rose 22 percent to $12 billion. Sales of anti-epileptic drugs rose 17.7 percent to $11.3 billion. Antipsychotic drugs rose 12.1 percent to $14.1 billion.

Merck's cholesterol drug Zocor had the second highest sales in the world at $5.9 billion while Sanofi-Aventis (Paris:SASY.PA - News) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s (NYSE:BMY - News) anti-clotting drug Plavix came in third, with sales of $5 billion.