Taiwan pharmaceutical market a 'challenging proposition'

In the fourth-quarter 2010 update, Taiwan has again retained sixth place on a regional basis in Business Monitor International’s Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Business Environment Ratings, out of the 17 markets surveyed in Asia Pacific. Globally, Taiwan’s TW$123.4 billion ($3.81 billion) pharmaceutical market is viewed as the 27th most attractive, out of the 83 markets surveyed by BMI.

However, although well developed, the Taiwanese market represents a challenging proposition, given its strict pricing and reimbursement environment, which hampers market access for innovative medicines, as well as pending patent expirations. BMI therefore forecasts an unspectacular compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to 2014, which will come in at 3.72% in local currency terms, to give the overall market value as TW$148.1 billion ($4.94bn). Given the increase in trade links between China and Taiwan, the two countries are working towards regulatory system improvements.

To this end, they recently signed a cross-strait bilateral agreement on the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), which also concerns pharmaceuticals. The agreement aims to encourage and protect innovation, as the countries aim to create a formal platform for solving disputes and improve their international competitiveness. In a related and worrying development, however, an official investigation reportedly found that as much as 25% of pharmaceutical products in Taiwan are counterfeit, substandard or illegal, which is an area in need of attention, says BMI.