Generic penetration In Italy's pharma market set to rise

The prescription pharmaceutical market in Italy was valued at $24.9 billion in 2009 in a new report from Datamonitor. Key growth drivers for branded pharmaceuticals include the growing use of chronic high-value innovative treatments driven by a growing elderly population, the high proportion of the healthcare budget spent on pharmaceuticals, and a high level of brand loyalty among Italian patients.

Due to high pharmaceutical spend driven by limited generic usage, Italy employs a range of pricing and reimbursement tools to control costs. As a result, drug prices there are among the lowest in Europe, a factor which is largely behind the country's high parallel export activity.

As a result of reforms introduced in April 2009, branded pharma companies are now forced to maintain brand prices at a higher price than the first generic product to market. This is likely to increase the level of brand erosion post patent expiry, says Datamonitor.