Research and Markets: Argentina Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report - The Updated Q4 2009 Edition

DUBLIN-(Business Wire)-September 28, 2009 - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/3738ca/argentina_pharmace) has announced the addition of the "Argentina Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q4 2009" report to their offering.

This Argentina 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 Argentina's pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry

The report calculates Argentina's pharmaceutical expenditure to have been ARS11.56bn (US$3.73bn) in 2008. By 2013, wthe publisher expects the total amount spent on prescription and OTC medicines to have reached a value of ARS26.62bn (US$4.23bn) equating to a compound annual growth rate of 17.8%. In US dollar terms, however, as a result of the weakening peso, drug market expenditure will fall sharply from US$3.73bn in 2008 to US$3.37bn in 2009. This will affect all the subsequent forecasts in this report. In BMI's Business Environment Rankings for Q409, Argentina is ranked in 7th place in the America's region. Globally, Argentina is ranked in 31st position, above Russia and Qatar and just behind Turkey and Colombia. Argentina is present on the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)'s Special 301 Submission (2009) Priority Watch List owing to the lack of protection of undisclosed test data and other information, in a manner that is inconsistent with its obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement.

Argentina's reliance on data submitted by originators to approve marketing requests by competitors for similar products - following the approval of the product associated with the original submitted data - is viewed negatively. The report also criticises the absence of any link between the patent system and the procedures for approving the marketing of pharmaceutical products, including non-patented medicines. In April 2009, the College of Pharmacists in Argentina called for the government to change legislation regarding the sale of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in the country. The sale of OTC medicines in establishments other than pharmacies was authorised in 1991 by Decree 2284. It was argued that medicines sold on pavements had not been stored in adequate conditions, as they would have been exposed to sunlight. Furthermore, it was revealed that although the Administration of Medicines, Food and Technology regulates all medicines, it does not have any jurisdiction to inspect medicines sold in street kiosks. It is therefore believed that some of the drugs sold outside pharmacies are counterfeit, and that the reduced regulation regarding OTC medicine sales has led to the sale of prescription medicines outside pharmacies.

The current swine flu outbreak has hit Argentina hard and BMI believes that if the situation gets worse, the social and economic impact will be immense, leading to a contraction in the country's GDP. While certain drugmakers and medical device manufacturers will profit, all other pharmaceutical companies will see sales decline sharply. Both government and consumer spending will contract, resulting in reduced demand for both prescription and over-the-counter medicines.

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