German Drug Market's Strong Expansion

The German pharmaceutical market is continuing to expand in 1996, after growth of 6.7% in 1995. Analysts at the WestLB bank in Dusseldorf note that the industry has achieved double-digit growth in first-quarter 1996, though this may well flatten out.

The bank's report forecasts market growth for the full year of at least 6.5% to 35 billion Deutschemarks ($20.07 billion), calculated at retail prices. Contributing to this further expansion will be both volume and structural components, linked to the switch to more innovative and expensive products.

Generic Competition Will Impact Price Rises The rise in German drug prices is expected to be restricted by generic competition to around 0.5%. The structural element is seen as based on the high growth rates being posted by various new antibiotics and treatments for illnesses of the stomach and intestinal tract, and by newly-introduced products such as Schering AG's Betaferon (interferon beta).