Value of Bosnian Pharmaceutical Market Grows 12.6% Y/Y in 2010, Bosnalijek Remains Market Leader

Value of Bosnian Pharma Market Grows 12.6% Y/Y in 2010

A report has been published by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (Agencija za lijekove i medicinska sredstva Bosne i Hercegovine: ALIMS BiH) on the country's pharmaceutical market in 2010, including data from 44 of the 61 licensed pharmaceutical wholesalers involved in the import of pharmaceuticals, as well as eight domestic pharmaceutical producers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to this report, the value of the pharmaceutical market in Bosnia and Herzegovina during 2010 reached 526.147 billion convertible marks (US389.41 million). This compares with the agency's estimate of BAM467.15 billion in 2009, although it is not clear whether either figure includes the autonomous Republika Srpska enclave. On the basis of these figures, the value of the Bosnian pharmaceutical market increased by 12.63% year-on-year (y/y) in 2010. The full report from the ALIMS BiH is available, in Bosnian, here.

Domestic Producers Fare Slightly Better

As the figures show, the value of imported pharmaceuticals far outweighs that of domestically produced ones, with over 80% of the market accounted for by imports. Compared with the previous year, however, domestic producers fared somewhat better: in 2009, domestic companies accounted for only 16.7% of the market, as opposed to 19.4% in 2010.

Bosnalijek Retains Market Leader Position

The largest pharmaceutical company in Bosnia and Herzegovina, generics producer Bosnalijek, retained its position as market leader in 2010, clocking up domestic sales of BAM65.048 billion, according to ALIMS BiH figures. Its share of the domestic market, however, fell from 14.42% in 2009 to 12.38% in 2010. The second and third positions were occupied by Slovenian generics producer Krka and Serbian generics producer Hemofarm, respectively, while in fourth position was Wellcome Limited, the branch of United Kingdom pharma major GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Other international majors in the top 10 were Swiss firm Roche in 5th place, United States company Pfizer in 8th, and French Sanofi in 10th.

Increased Expenditure on High-Cost Medicines Noted

Although the top 10 selling medicines by value in Bosnia and Herzegovina during 2010 were primarily heavily genericised drugs—such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors enalapril and lisinopril in first and second places, respectively—sales of high-cost medicines, and particularly oncology medicines, were higher than in 2009. Novartis's oncology drug Glivec/Gleevec (imatinib) was in 11th position, with sales of BAM6.83 billion, compared with BAM4.69 billion in 2009. Additionally, sales of Roche's oncology medicine Herceptin (trastuzumab) went up to BAM4.84 billion in 2010, from only BAM3.75 billion in 2009. Similarly, sales of Roche's MabThera/Rituxan (rituximab) went up from BAM3.69 billion to BAM4.36 billion.

Outlook and Implications

Considering its population of about 3.8 million, pharmaceutical spending in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains comparatively low; with double-digit growth in 2010, however, and an increased emphasis on more expensive innovative medicines, it looks like the Bosnia and Herzegovina market is one that is increasingly going to be a focus for pharmaceutical companies looking to expand in the Central and Eastern Europe region.

It is also noteworthy that companies native to Bosnia and Herzegovina increased their share of the country's market during 2010, even while the sales of more expensive medicines were on the rise. It can be expected that there will be an increasingly intense focus on boosting domestic production, as the Bosnia and Herzegovina government seeks to make savings on the increasing costs of healthcare in the coming years.