What Future For Domestic Spanish Drugmakers?

Although large domestic pharmaceutical companies such as AP Farma (themerged Almirall and Prodesfarma; Marketletter February 3) and Esteve retain a strong position in the Spanish market, overall it is shifting from being dominated by domestic players to being controled by multinationals.

There are now only three domestic players in the top 10: AP Farma, Esteve and Ferrer, according to a new study from Datamonitor, PharmaDominus: Spain (available through Marketletter Publications at a cost of L1,995). A further three, Vita, Uriach and Faes rank in the top 10-20.

Companies like Faes have only gained their position in the top 20 due to the recent consolidation of other players in the market. In value terms, the six companies have combined sales of $1.09 billion, making up a 34% share of total top 20 sales (see also pages 24-25).