Turkish officials are psyched up for a big leap in its pharmaceutical business. According to a Pricewaterhouse Coopers report commissioned by the Turkish pharma industry, drug sales are poised to grow to $23.3 billion by 2023, up from $5 billion last year--provided the government makes some key moves.
That's quite a jump--almost fivefold, in fact. The report credits broader access to branded meds in-country, but much of that growth would be in exports, PwC notes. The government itself has set a goal of breaking the top 10 health service economies worldwide, PharmaTimes says. It has targeted a 3% increase in R&D spending and healthcare exports growth to $500 billion, both by 2023.
Turkey is among the 10 fastest-growing emerging markets, per IMS Health's recent survey of global pharma markets through 2016. The market research firm expects the country's new-drug availability to grow significantly by then, but it also projects that Turkey's pharma market will rank 18th, worldwide, compared with its current 16th-place ranking.
PwC points out that the country needs to take some steps to improve its ability to compete globally. Other major emerging markets such as India and are investing more in the pharma business than Turkey is, the report states. Only about $60 million is spent on innovative drug R&D annually, less than one-tenth of 1% of worldwide R&D investment. Plus, the firm says, Turkey needs to up its own drug spending to 1.35% of GDP.
- read the PharmaTimes piece