Research and Markets: Kuwait Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q2 2009

DUBLIN--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/1b4360/kuwait_pharmaceuti) has
announced the addition of the "Kuwait Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q2
2009" report to their offering.

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

The Kuwaiti pharmaceutical market - now slipping to fifth place from third out
of the 17 regional markets surveyed in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) Business
Environment Ranking matrix - will record unspectacular growth in the next five
years. The rate of this growth will also be offset by inflation and the
government's cost-containment policy, focusing on generic reimbursement.
Overall, the market is likely to reach around US$508mn at consumer prices by
2013, up from US$377mn in 2008, equal to US$131 per capita, with both figures
small in global terms. The market will post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR)
of 5.38% in nominal terms, or a slightly higher 6.15% in US dollar terms, While
prescription medicines will continue to dominate a lion's share of the overall
market, the recent regionwide regulatory changes - notably the recent attempts
to draft legislation on alternative and traditional medicines - will stimulate
the development of the over-the-counter (OTC) segment, although it will still
remain small in absolute term.

Other segments of the healthcare market are also severely limited by the small
size of Kuwait's population. Nevertheless, BMI expects the medical device sector
to grow over the coming years, supported by government's strategy to continue
undertaking reforms in the healthcare sector as well as partially by the efforts
of Kuwaiti distributers seeking new suppliers. We estimated that the market was
worth US$78.7mn in 2008, with the figure forecast to top US$98.1mn in 2013,
growing at a CAGR of some 3.74% in nominal terms. Given that imports meet
virtually all of the demand, foreign companies and their local distributors will
be the beneficiaries of this trend. The recent purchase by the Kuwaiti
government of nuclear radiation protection drugs, amid concerns of a fallout of
a possible conflict between Israel/the US and Iran, or a meltdown of the
soon-to-be-operational Iranian Bushehr nuclear power plant, may also lead to
purchases of radiation detection and similar medical devices.

In the meantime, the Kuwaiti government is under increasing pressure to deal
with the economic turmoil, and, as parliament becomes even angrier with the
government, this could lead the latter to make some potentially damaging
decisions. There is also a risk of early elections: new polls are not due until
2012, but Kuwait has a history of dissolving governments. While we would not
expect this to result in any meaningful change of government - parliament is
already dominated by the opposition and the royal family is not about to be
overthrown - it could destabilise the country, delay reforms, deter investors
and lead to even further fiscal laxity. Nevertheless, although Kuwait faces
substantial structural challenges over the long-term, the energy sector will
continue to grow in real terms to 2018, keeping the government in surplus.

Key Topics Covered:

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

Companies Mentioned:

* Novartis
* Sanofi-Aventis
* Pfizer
* GlaxoSmithKline
* Merck & Co
* Johnson & Johnson
* Advanced Technology Company
* Bader Sultan & Bros
* Safwan Trading And Contracting Company

For more information visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/1b4360/kuwait_pharmaceuti

Research and Markets
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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