Mid East pharma sales to reach $8B for 2005

Although the Middle East is a promising region for the international pharmaceutical industry, the perceived instability of the region and the different way of conducting business can deter interested companies at first. Local agents are of utmost importance in navigating through the stringent registration and marketing requirements, according to a new report from Piribo (www.piribo.com).

However, Middle Eastern countries are increasingly adopting liberal policies that are leading to marked changes in the health care sector, it says (see also story above).

The report shows how this six-country market has grown to be worth more than $8.0 billon in 2005. "The Middle East stands as a high-growth market, and has been estimated to have achieved an impressive 10.6% combined annual growth rate between 1999 and 2003, around 4% more than the estimated world average and second only to Southeast Asia and China," says the report.