Personalised medicines will play a greater role in the treatment of patients. They offer fewer side-effects and treat illnesses more efficiently than wide-spectrum therapeutic drugs. Smaller patient populations are a fundamental roadblock to the development of personalised medicine, but BMI’s Pharmaceuticals Team believes that this will be overcome by advanced cost-effectiveness studies in support of… [Read more]

Iran’s economy is not entirely coruscating. The government’s subsidy reform programme, international sanctions, and rising political risk all bode ill for the Islamic Republic’s macroeconomic outlook. Nonetheless, my colleagues and I believe that there may still be pockets of growth potential. Indeed, although our 2011 real GDP growth forecast stands at a paltry 1.2%, we… [Read more]

On February 21, 2011, BMI published an article stating that as well as possible downside pressures on pharmaceutical sales from the MENA political upheaval, there may be benefits for companies in the region’s healthcare industry. This view was based on the supposition that public healthcare expenditure would be increased by incumbent governments attempting to appease… [Read more]

Chinese pharmaceutical companies are performing very well. However, they need to evolve to remain competitive. Analysis of the top 50 listed drugmakers in China and Hong Kong determined the following metrics: In 2010, the average revenue growth was 27%, while net income rose by 37%. The combined market capitalisation was US$135bn, which equates to one… [Read more]

Multinational drug-makers often refer to their strong product pipeline and promises of innovation as a way of reassuring investors of their financial future. Nevertheless, confidence in the pharmaceutical stock prices has declined in recent years, mainly as a result of the imminent expiry of several product patents and the anticipated erosion of revenues by generic… [Read more]

BMI expects the UK to introduce regulatory mechanisms to reduce sales recorded by multinational drugmakers. Although the country possesses the two main characteristics associated with introducing medicine price cuts – significant state involvement in pharmaceutical purchasing and a large fiscal shortfall – it is unlikely to introduce explicit controls. This is because the government is… [Read more]

BMI believes the commercial success of the pharmaceutical industry depends on innovation to a much greater extent than any other industry. The long-term success of the sector is highly dependent on maintaining a steady rate of new product launches, to replace older products with expired patents and recover revenues lost to the generic drug sector…. [Read more]