Emerging markets account for over a third of world pharmaceutical market growth.
Cost containment, patent expiry and intensified competition have all contributed to a slowing or stabilizing of growth in the major pharmaceutical markets. As established markets struggle to find the path to value-driven healthcare, attention has swung to emerging markets in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, which are taking an increasing share of global growth.
The attractiveness of entering or expanding in such double-digit growth markets as China, India, Russia and Turkey is clear. No global pharmaceutical company can ignore such a rich source of potential future or it will find itself competing in an ever-shrinking part of the market. Some are already shaping long-term strategic plans even as national healthcare systems emerge.
Entering and flourishing in these markets - whilst maintaining strength in existing markets - will not be easy. Successful companies will be those with the ability to simultaneously apply practices from core markets while adapting to the local healthcare characteristics. For those used to working with reliable market measures in developed markets, the embryonic metrics and reliance on local expertise will require entirely new ways of understanding market dynamics.
