Drug price cuts in Spain will see pharmaceutical market decline, says BMI

Spain is ranked eighth, of the 10 countries surveyed in the Western European region in Business Monitor International’s Business Environment Ratings (BER) for first-quarter 2011.

The country has improved its position by one place and now ranks above both Italy and Portugal. However, while Spain offers positives for investors, such as its large drug market, it also holds various downsides, such as low population growth, cumbersome bureaucracy, provincial differences regarding drug regulation and reimbursement, and modest forecast market expansion due to cost-containment measures.

Globally, Spain's pharmaceutical market is rated 19th, having previously been 20th, out of the total of 83 countries surveyed. In the coming quarters, the wide-ranging price reductions and patent expirations will conspire to keep Spain towards the bottom of the regional BER matrix.