Pressure on governments in India and Brazil to increase funding for newer antiretrovirals provides opportunities for Big Pharma

Concerns over resistance and intolerance are leading to greater pressure on governments in India and Brazil to increase funding for newer antiretroviral treatments for HIV. This creates an opportunity for Big Pharma as it looks for growth opportunities, says independent market analyst Datamonitor.

Given the dominance of domestic companies and the prevailing uncertainty regarding intellectual property protection in these countries, Datamonitor believes that the best strategy for international drug makers to penetrate the Indian and Brazilian market is through voluntary licenses and agreements with domestic manufacturers.

Mansi Shah, senior health care analyst at Datamonitor, comments: 'Lifelong therapy is required for the management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. This has helped antiretroviral drugs become an important revenue driver in the major western markets for several of the leading Big Pharma companies. However, limited growth opportunities in established markets have focussed attention on the unmet need and high disease burden of emerging markets such as India and Brazil.'