Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/87a58e/saudi_arabia_pharm) has announced the addition of the "Saudi Arabia Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q2 2009" report to their offering.

The forecasts that total pharmaceutical spending in Saudi Arabia will increase from US$2.65bn in 2008 to US$3.68bn by 2013, representing a compound annual growth rate of 6.8% in US dollar terms. We believe that the main drivers for growth will be the increasing burden of respiratory diseases in the country, coupled with the rise of obesity-related disorders, including diabetes and hypertension.

Expenditure is also expected to rise in line with planned healthcare reforms to introduce mandatory health insurance throughout the Kingdom. With respect to this, we also foresee the Ministry of Health beginning to manoeuvre itself into a more regulatory role within the scope of the new reforms. While the government wishes to reduce its public sector healthcare spending, it also plans to radically improve the quality and standard of care at Saudi hospitals.

According to the Burden of Disease Database (BoDD), the number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost to lower respiratory tract infections will decrease from 135,806 in 2008 to 61,352 by 2030, representing a decline of 55%. The proportion of this burden on the total number of DALYs in the Kingdom will fall from 4.3% to 1.6% over the same period. While this is encouraging, we note that the rise in antibiotic resistance in the Kingdom will need to be addressed by the Ministry of Health in order to support a continuation of this trend.

The Kingdom's plan to provide medical insurance to 1.5mn Saudi employees by Q309 is expected to increase the value of the total insurance market in the country by US$534mn. Collaborative plans were drafted during December 2008 between health insurance firms and governmental bodies, including the Ministry of Labour. We caution that, though extended coverage will increase overall healthcare spending, it is likely that premiums will increase with more comprehensive coverage to cope with rising demand. Additionally, we warn that more time may be needed in order for insurance firms to cope with the rapid rise in uptake, which may delay the target for mandatory coverage in the private sector until early 2010.

In 2008, the value of the medical insurance sector was US$700mn. During 2006-2008 this sector experienced strong growth to achieve just under a third of the total insurance market. In our view, gradually increasing coverage and ensuring that policies are transparent will allow this growth trend to continue in order to meet the government's targets.


Key Topics Covered:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

SWOT ANALYSIS

- Saudi Arabia Political SWOT

- Saudi Arabia Economic SWOT

- Saudi Arabia Business Environment SWOT

PHARMACEUTICAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT RATINGS

- Limits of Potential Returns

- Risks to Realisation of Returns

SAUDI ARABIA

- MARKET SUMMARY

REGULATORY REGIME

- Regional Regulatory Developments

- Free Trade Agreements

- Intellectual Property Developments

- IP Deficiencies

- Pricing and Reimbursement Issues

- Tendering Procedures

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

- Epidemiology

- HIV/AIDS

- Healthcare Sector

- Primary Healthcare Provision

- Secondary Healthcare Provision

- Recent Healthcare Provision Developments

- Health Insurance

- Pharmaceutical Sector

- Pharmaceutical Distribution Sector

- Recent Pharmaceutical Company Activities

- Medical Device Sector

- Research and Development

INDUSTRY FORECAST SCENARIO

- Key Growth Factors

- Industry

- Overall Market Forecasts

- Macroeconomic Scenario

- Patented Drug Market Forecast

- Generic Drug Market Forecast

- OTC Drug Market Forecast

- Table: Saudi Arabia OTC Drug Market, 2004-2013 (US$mn unless otherwise stated)

- Medical Device Market Forecast

- Pharmaceutical Export/Import Market Forecasts

- Other Healthcare Data Forecasts

- Key Risks to BMI Forecasts

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

COMPANY PROFILES

COUNTRY SNAPSHOT: SAUDI ARABIA DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

- Section 1: Population

- Section 2: Education and Healthcare

- Section 3: Labour Market and Spending Power

BMI FORECAST MODELLING

- How We Generate Our Pharmaceutical Industry Forecasts

- Pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings Methodology

- Ratings Overview

- Weighting

- Sources

Companies Mentioned:

- GlaxoSmithKline

- Novartis

- Merck & Co

- Pfizer

- Sanofi-Aventis

- Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries & Medical Appliances Corp (SPIMACO)

- Saudi Arabian Japanese Pharmaceutical (SAJA)

- TABUK Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

- Al Jazeera Pharmaceutical Industries (JPI)

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/87a58e/saudi_arabia_pharm

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