LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The combined pharmaceutical markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China represent a total market, including pharmacy and hospital sales, valued at $127 billion at retail prices, according to a new report on companiesandmarkets.com. With strong economic growth, a combined population of 2.9 billion people and significant unmet healthcare needs, challenges and opportunities remain in BRIC pharmaceutical markets.
The Outlook for Pharmaceuticals in Brazil, Russia, India & China
This market is collectively lower than that found in leading markets such as the USA and Japan, but impressive growth rates mean that pharmaceutical companies should have long-term interests in these markets. China, in fact, is expected to become the second leading worldwide pharmaceutical market by 2016.
There are wide regional health expenditure differences within the BRIC markets, far more than in developed countries where health systems provide a more uniform coverage level. These four countries, however, have a relatively wealthy urban population with a far greater spending power than their respective national average. In the case of China and India, these urban populations have grown rapidly, and number hundreds of millions. The challenge for these countries is to extend this level of wealth to the rest of the population, so that better levels of healthcare become affordable. China, for instance, plans to create a solid platform for universal healthcare access for all by 2020.
Pharmaceutical market growth has been impressive in recent years. Market change, however, is expected to be incremental. Short-term opportunities exist to meet the health demands of the burgeoning middle classes, whilst future prospects are bright, fuelled by strong economic performance. An impressive pharmaceutical market growth projected in BRIC markets is expected to erode some of the commercial differences with the established, but more sluggish, pharmaceutical markets in North America, Japan and Europe. Only Brazil is expected to have a low market CAGR in US dollar terms over the 2011-2016 period, due to a weaker local currency over the period.