Global pharmaceutical market grew 7% to reach $643 billion, IMS reports

In 2006, the global pharmaceutical market grew 7.0% at constant exchange rates, to $643,0 billion, according to IMS Health, a leading provider of market intelligence for the sector. A rebound in growth to 8.3% in the USA - fueled by an increase in prescribing volume due to Medicare Part D - and innovations in oncologics that drove strong 20.5% global growth in that therapeutic class, were key contributors to the market's expansion, the resarch shows.

"We continue to see a shift in growth in the marketplace away from mature markets to emerging ones, and from primary care classes to biotech and specialist-driven therapies," said Murray Aitken, IMS senior vice president, corporate strategy. "Oncology and autoimmune products increasingly are demonstrating their value in answering unmet patient needs - offering significant opportunities for growth," Mr Aitkin added

Last year, says IMS, specialist-driven products contributed 62% of the market's total growth, compared with just 35% in 2000. A number of primary care classes are experiencing slowing or below market-average growth due to the entry of lower-cost, high-quality generics and switches to over-the-counter products. These classes include proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), antihistamines, platelet aggregation inhibitor, and antidepressants.