Research and Markets: Italy Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q2 2009

DUBLIN--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/80cb7f/italy_pharmaceutic) has
announced the addition of the "Italy Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q2
2009" report to their offering.

Italy Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report provides independent forecasts and
competitive intelligence on Italy's pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.

Italian economy is one of the most vulnerable economies in an already shaky
eurozone. High public debt, poor infrastructure, and a lack of competitiveness
are the basis for the likelihood that the country will remain on the region's
laggards over our forecast period. Additionally, low levels of growth of the
Italian pharmaceutical market, which have come about largely as a result of
widespread price cuts, mean that Italy now sits third from the bottom of our
Business Environment Rankings for Western Europe in Q209.

Despite this, the sheer size of Italy's drug market (at US$30.7bn in 2008) and
the recently announced improvements to its regulatory agency mean that Italy is
the 14th most attractive pharmaceutical market in global terms. By 2013,
however, its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) will be negative in US dollar
terms (with the market value at consumer prices falling to US$29.9bn), as the
government continues its cost-containment drive.

In addition, manufacturers have raised the issue of limited access to innovation
- with regional variations a key problem. Research-based companies have
complained that incessant price cuts are resulting in fewer funds available for
research and development (R&D) activities. Pfizer, the leading global
pharmaceutical company, sold its Italian manufacturing plant in Nerviano to
Icelandic generics company Actavis at the start of 2008, only to announce a
major cut in the number of its sales jobs in Italy a year later. Both
developments are clear indications of the difficult operating conditions in the
country's pharmaceutical market, with Pfizer additionally facing a major
European patent expiration in 2011.

Nevertheless, pharmaceutical manufacturers are certain to welcome some of the
recent regulatory developments. For example, in January 2009, the Italian
parliament began considering a revision of the economic stimulus bill. The
changes would reserve US$23.73mn per annum for the provision of financial
assistance to families that have new-born children suffering from any one of
6,000 rare diseases. Around the same time, Spanish pharmaceutical company
PharmaMar announced that its designated orphan drug for the treatment of soft
tissue sarcomas and ovarian cancer - Yondelis (trabectedin) - had received
approval for price and reimbursement from Italian authorities.

In what can be seen as a welcome development for the pharmacy retail sector, the
European Commission recently appealed to the Italian government to modify
legislation that limits the ownership of multiple retail pharmacies. The
commission stated that if the Italian restrictions are not changed within two
months, the next step would be the involvement of the European Court of Justice
(ECJ). According to existing provisions, a pharmacy chain can have a maximum of
four outlets within the country's 108 provinces, which is in conflict with free
trading in Article 43 of the European Community Treaty.

Key Topics Covered:

* Executive Summary
* Pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings
* Italy - Market Summary
* Regulatory Regime
* Industry Developments
* Industry Forecast Scenario
* Competitive Landscape
* Company Profiles
* Country Snapshot: Italy Demographic Data
* Forecast Modelling

Companies Mentioned:

* GlaxoSmithKline
* Pfizer
* Novartis
* Sanofi-Aventis
* Merck & Co
* Recordati

For more information visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/80cb7f/italy_pharmaceutic

Laura Wood
Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
Fax from USA: 646-607-1907
Fax from rest of the world: +353-1-481-1716

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