Generics will slow pharmaceutical market growth in France, says new report

Published: 3-Feb-2015

GlobalData expects tepid CAGR of 0.7% to US$48.2bn by 2020


The French pharmaceutical market will grow at a lukewarm Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 0.7% from US$46.2bn in 2014 to $48.2bn by 2020, restricted by an increasing focus on generic drugs, says a new report from GlobalData.

The market researcher’s latest report, CountryFocus: Healthcare, Regulatory and Reimbursement Landscape – France, says the country was a relatively late entrant to the generics market compared with the UK and Germany. In 2008, generic drugs accounted for 21.7% of the pharmaceutical market in volume terms and increased to 30.2% in 2013.

According to Joshua Owide, GlobalData’s Director of Healthcare Industry Dynamics, the French government is promoting generics as a measure to reduce healthcare expenditure. In September 2012, it introduced a scheme under which patients who agree to generic substitution will not be required to pay for their drugs.

'While patented drugs dominate France’s pharmaceutical market, the volume of prescribing attributed to generic drugs will shift closer to levels seen in the rest of Europe, restricting French market growth,' says Owide.

Patients in France who agree to generic substitution will not be required to pay for their drugs

'The generic sector is mainly driven by a favourable regulatory regime, patent expirations and a variety of government incentives for physicians, pharmacists and patients to choose generics ahead of branded products.'

In spite of the negative impact of generics, France’s pharmaceutical market will be boosted by other factors, including an ageing population, tax incentives, a substantial skilled workforce and high public healthcare expenditure.

By 2020, France’s elderly are expected to account for almost 20% of the total population. As this group generally needs more medication than younger people, the need for high-quality healthcare is increasing.

Incentives such as the abolition of corporate tax and the Research Tax Credit to support research and development are enhancing the competitiveness of healthcare organisations and will help to sustain the pharmaceutical market, says Owide.

The report provides an overview of the pharmaceutical and medical devices sectors in France, including annualised market forecasts to 2020.

Analysis includes details of the healthcare reimbursement process, regulatory agencies and approval processes for new drugs and medical devices.

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