Press Release

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/1399df/saudi_arabia_pharm) has announced the addition of the "Saudi Arabia Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q1 2010" report to their offering.

The Saudi Arabia Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, pharmaceutical associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Saudi Arabia's pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.

In the Q110 Business Environment Ratings, Saudi Arabia is ranked fifth of the 17 Middle East and African (MEA) markets. This is a drop from the country's previous second place in Q409 and is due to a drop in its score for limits of potential returns. From 2009 to 2014, the pharmaceutical market is expected to post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.44% in both US dollar and local currency terms. Council of Co-operative Health Insurance (CCHI) secretary general Dr Abdullah Al Sharif has said that the council has plans to develop a comprehensive healthcare management system centred on health economics and pharmacoeconomics in conjunction with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority. Since Saudi Arabia has both the largest population and the highest level of pharmaceutical spending in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) there is a strong possibility that the Kingdom could itself become a medical tourism destination to rival Jordan. Saudi Arabian consumers will spend 4% of their GDP on healthcare by 2013 and the government is currently constructing more hospitals and recruiting more healthcare professionals to address issues with access to healthcare services in the country.

Chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity are forming an increasingly large portion of the region's epidemiological profile. Domestic drugmakers in the region, such as Gulf Pharmaceuticals Industries (Julphar) in the UAE, are using exports to reach other GCC states; however, international accreditation for manufacturing practice would allow firms like this to target more lucrative global markets.

Saudi Arabia is highly reliant on foreign doctors for the provision of healthcare. An estimated 78% of the Kingdom's 43,000 doctors are expatriates. Recently, Saudi Arabia recruited 500 doctors from Bangladesh for the 2,000 health centres across the country. In total, 4,000 doctors had been recruited to 150 new family health centres by early 2008. A further 7,000 should be recruited over the next few years in an attempt to bring the doctor:patient ratio down from 1:4,000 to 1:400. Many of these extra doctors are expected to come from abroad - mostly from less wealthy Arab countries such as Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

Key Topics Covered:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

SWOT ANALYSIS

PHARMACEUTICAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT RATINGS

SAUDI ARABIA - MARKET SUMMARY

REGULATORY REGIME

INDUSTRY TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS

INDUSTRY FORECAST SCENARIO

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

COMPANY PROFILES

COUNTRY SNAPSHOT: SAUDI ARABIA DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

BMI METHODOLOGY

FORECAST TABLES

Companies Mentioned:

• GlaxoSmithKline
• Novartis
• Merck & Co
• Pfizer
• Sanofi-Aventis
• Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries & Medical Appliances Corp (SPIMACO)
• Saudi Arabian Japanese Pharmaceutical (SAJA)
• TABUK Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
• Al Jazeera Pharmaceutical Industries (JPI)

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/1399df/saudi_arabia_pharm