British Pharmaceutical Market to Reach $31.7 Billion

A growing disease burden, universal coverage, and good access to healthcare facilities are boosting the UK healthcare market; but increasing use of generics and government cost-cutting measures to reduce expenditure are restricting further growth, says research and consulting firm GlobalData.

According to the company’s latest report, the UK pharmaceutical market was worth $24 billion in 2012 and is forecast to reach $31.7 billion by 2020, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.5%. The segments that dominated the market in 2012 were Central Nervous System (CNS) drugs, along with cardiovascular and respiratory system drugs.

The medical device market is also forecast to grow, from $12 billion in 2012 to $17.5 billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 4.8%. In 2012, the major market shares were ophthalmic devices ($1.4 billion), orthopedic devices ($1.4 billion), wound care management ($1.1 billion), cardiovascular devices ($1.1 billion), and drug delivery devices ($1 billion).

Joshua Owide, GlobalData’s Director of Healthcare Industry Dynamics, says “With the availability of reimbursement, advances in medical technology, and growing disease awareness allowing for early diagnosis, the UK’s medical device market is expected to grow significantly in the near future. Furthermore, structural reforms in the healthcare system and sufficient infrastructure, in addition to easily accessible healthcare facilities and a straightforward reimbursement process, are ensuring a positive healthcare landscape in the UK.”

However, increasing generic substitution and cost-cutting measures adopted by the British government and the National Health Service (NHS) have had a negative impact on market growth. In 2013, the Department of Health announced plans to cut drug prices by 10% to 20% on approximately 10% of branded medicines not covered by the voluntary Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS).

“These price cuts will adversely affect the revenues of branded medicine manufacturers in the UK. What’s more, generics are priced lower than patented drugs, which saw a decrease in the overall value of the UK pharmaceutical market,” added Mr. Owide.

The report, CountryFocus: Healthcare, Regulatory and Reimbursement Landscape – UK,
provides an analysis on the healthcare, regulatory, and reimbursement landscape of the UK; it identifies the key trends in the healthcare market and provides insights on the demographic, regulatory, and reimbursement landscape and healthcare infrastructure. Most importantly, this report provides valuable insights on the trends and segmentation of the pharmaceutical and medical devices markets. This report was built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research, and in-house analysis conducted by GlobalData’s team of industry experts.

GlobalData is a leading global research and consulting firm offering advanced analytics to help clients make better, more informed decisions every day. Its research and analysis is based on the expert knowledge of over 700 qualified business analysts and 25,000 interviews conducted with industry insiders every year, enabling them to offer the most relevant, reliable, and actionable strategic business intelligence available for a wide range of industries. For more information, www.globaldata.com.