Global CV drug market to hit $116B by 2010

The worldwide market for cardiovascular drugs is forecast to expand to $116.3 billion in 2010, according to a new report from URCH Publishing, a UK-based provider of pharmaceutical industry business information.

The report, titled Cardiovascular Pharmaceutical Market Trends 2007 to 2010, says that, although there will be growth of 5.3% over the next four years, there will be a slowing in the rate of expansion due to continued patent expires of major products. However, virtually all companies involved in this area will see solid sales increases of their cardiovascular portfolios, it notes.

"Four of the top 10 cardiovascular companies in 2005 are forecast to grow their cardiovascular sales at a double-digit annual growth rate over the next five years," commented Steve Seget, the report's author. "They are Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim; however, Merck [& Co] is forecast to see declining sales, resulting in a fall from second to sixth place in the list of top cardiovascular companies by 2010," he noted