Global drug market to rise 5%-6% in 2008, shift away from developed markets

The global drug market is expected to grow at a rate of 5%-6% in 2008, compared with 6%-7% in the current year, according to data released in IMS Health's 2008 Global Pharmaceutical Market and Therapy Forecast. The annual industry indicator of market dynamics and therapy performance anticipates global pharmaceutical sales to expand between $735.0 million and $745.0 billion next year.

Murray Aitken, senior vice president, Healthcare Insight, IMS, said: "in several respects, 2008 marks an important inflection point for the global pharmaceutical market. For the first time, the seven largest markets will contribute just half of overall pharmaceutical market growth, while seven emerging markets will contribute nearly 25% of growth worldwide."

He added that, "as the impact of established pharmaceuticals losing patent protection accelerates, we will see a decline for the first time in the size of the $370.0 million-$380.0 billion audited market for primary care-driven drugs. In the coming year, biopharmaceutical and generics companies will more aggressively adjust their business models to manage through these inflections, capturing new opportunities in this changing market environment."