Global biotech drug sales growth slowed in '07-IMS

SAN DIEGO, June 17 (Reuters) - Global sales of biotechnology drugs grew 12.5 percent in 2007, more the double the rate of overall pharmaceutical sales, but down from a growth rate of more 18 percent in 2006, according to data complied by IMS Health (RX.N).

Worldwide sales of biotech drugs reached more than $75 billion last year, driven by targeted cancer therapies, auto-immune agents, anti-diabetic agents, and vaccines.

Overall pharmaceutical sales rose 6.4 percent last year, according to IMS, which defines biotech products as pharmaceuticals or vaccines produced in living organisms and manufactured by recombinant DNA technology.

The report forecasts that over the next five years, the global biotech market will become more like the traditional pharmaceutical marketplace, reflecting increased competition, reimbursement issues and safety concerns for some therapies.

The loss of exclusivity, increasing competition, weaker sales growth and fewer companies willing to assume the risk in funding such drugs combined with safety concerns are expected to moderate growth through 2012, Murray Aitken, senior vice president for healthcare insight at IMS, said in a statement.

He does expect the biotech sector to remain one of the most robust segments of the pharmaceutical market, with biotech products currently accounting for one-fourth of all new drugs under development.

Some 22 biotech products generated sales of more than $1 billion in 2007, compared with just six products in 2002, the report said.

The United States remains the largest market for biotech products, representing 56 percent of total sales last year.

The report said sales of anemia drugs used to treat cancer and kidney disease patients fell 9 percent in 2007 after the emergence of safety issues. (Reporting by Deena Beasley, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)