EXPANDING PHARMA MARKET IN TURKEY

The pharmaceutical market in Turkey is poised for strong expansion. Rapid growth is being driven by the increasing population, and the surge of movement by those living in rural areas to the cities. There is also an increase in living standards, and life expectancy in the country is getting longer. The conditions of the Turkish pharmaceutical industry itself are very competitive, with many high-quality companies represented. The government has imposed strict controls on the prices of drugs and profit margins.

The Lehman Brothers health care team has been looking at the Turkish market and has recently initiated coverage of Turkey's leading health care products company, Eczacibasi Ilac. Lehman analysts have given the company a neutral, high-risk rating, more to reflect the intrinsic volatility of the Turkish stock market than the unpredictability of the company's revenues.

Turkey has a population of 60 million and it is growing at a rate of 2.5% per annum. The analysts say that in Turkey there are no hospitals, doctors, health services or chemists in the rural areas, which is where around half of the Turkish population lives. However, as people migrate from the villages into the towns and cities, health care services are on offer to them.