In 2010, patented drugs represented a 68% share of the Dutch pharmaceutical market.
IHS Global Insight Perspective | |
Significance | The Netherlands' pharmaceutical market was worth EUR3.6 billion in pharmacy-purchasing prices during 2010, with patented drugs representing 68% of the prescription market. |
Implications | Off-patent and generic drugs have gained market share over the last 10 years, owing to the preferential policy and patent expiries of high-revenue medicines. In terms of market leadership, US firms Pfizer and Abbott have clearly increased their footprint in the country. |
Outlook | The use of pro-generic measures is expected to fuel the off-patent and generics market as further high-revenue drugs will fall off patent and cheaper versions will be prioritised when possible. |
Patented drugs represented a 68% share of the Dutch pharmaceutical market during 2010, according to figures from the Dutch Foundation for Pharmaceutical Statistics (SFK). In value terms, the patented prescription-drug market was worth EUR2.5 billion (USD3.38 billion) at pharmacy-purchasing prices. By comparison, patented drugs represented 71% of the prescription market in 2000, or EUR1.7 billion in value. The decline witnessed is due to the patent expiries of several blockbuster and high-revenue drugs, as well as the preferential policy that boosted generic penetration in the Netherlands.
Netherlands Prescription Drug Market 2000–10 | ||||
2000 | 2010 | |||
% | Value (EUR bil.) | % | Value (EUR bil.) | |
Branded Medicines | 71 | 1.7 | 68 | 2.5 |
Off-patent and Generic Medicines | 29 | 0.7 | 32 | 1.1 |
Total Market | 100 | 2.4 | 100 | 3.6 |
Source: SFK | ||||
Pfizer, Abbott on Top
In terms of market leadership, US firms Pfizer and Abbott clearly led the ranking in the Netherlands during 2010. Their ranking today is the result of an impressive climb up through the top 10. Both firms were not in the top 10 pharma firms in revenue terms 10 years ago. Pfizer's subsidiary Parke Davis was already in the top six in 2000, and its integration into Pfizer in 2000 through the acquisition of its mother company Warner-Lambert partly contributed towards positioning Pfizer as a leader in the Dutch market. The other strategic move that helped Pfizer rank in the top position is the takeover of US-based Wyeth. The acquisition of Wyeth added the top-selling rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel (etanercept) to Pfizer's portfolio. With a turnover of EUR148 million during 2010, Enbrel was the second best selling product in the Netherlands that year, after Humira (adalimumab). Abbott, which generated the second largest turnover in the Dutch pharma market during 2010, commercialises Humira (adalimumab), which achieved sales of EUR176 million in 2010. During 2010, Enbrel represented over 45% of Pfizer's sales, while Humira accounted for 77.5% of Abbott's sales in the Netherlands.
Top 10 Pharma Companies in Netherlands, 2000–10 | ||||||
2000 | 2010 | |||||
Ranking | Manufacturer | Market Share (%) | Turnover (EUR mil.) | Manufacturer | Market Share (%) | Turnover (EUR mil.) |
1 | Pfizer (US) | 13.1 | 325 | AstraZeneca | 18.4 | 314 |
2 | Abbott (US) | 9.1 | 227 | GSK | 14.4 | 246 |
3 | AstraZeneca (UK) | 8.8 | 219 | MSD | 7.3 | 124 |
4 | GlaxoSmithKline (GSK, UK) | 7.2 | 179 | Novartis | 4.2 | 71 |
5 | Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD, US) | 6.1 | 151 | Novo Nordisk | 4.1 | 70 |
6 | Novartis (Switzerland) | 5.7 | 142 | Parke Davis (now part of Pfizer) | 4.0 | 69 |
7 | Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany) | 4.7 | 116 | Janssen Pharmaceutica (Belgium) | 3.3 | 56 |
8 | Novo Nordisk (Denmark) | 3.6 | 90 | Sanofi-Aventis (France) | 2.8 | 49 |
9 | Amgen (US) | 3.0 | 75 | Bristol-Myers Squibb (US) | 2.7 | 46 |
10 | Sanofi (France) | 2.6% | 65 | Schering-Plough (US) | 2.6 | 45 |
Outlook and Implications
According to earlier SFK figures, a significant increase in substitution rates at pharmacy level translated into a rise of 13.2% y/y in the number of generic medicines dispensed during 2010. The decline of the branded market in favour of off-patent and generic medicines is the result of the successful preferential policy that largely contributes to boosting generic substitution in the Netherlands. The insured are rarely reimbursed for a drug that is not included in the preferential policy in the Netherlands. The use of non-preferred products is only authorised on medical grounds, and must be expressly indicated on the prescription.
The second and third 2010 best-selling drugs—Enbrel and Lipitor (atorvastatin), respectively—in the Netherlands are commercialised by Pfizer, while the best-selling medicine—Humira—is sold by Abbott. Both firms have successfully brought to the market expensive and innovative medicines that now represent a large share of their revenue in the country. In addition to that, Pfizer used an aggressive takeover strategy to attain its leading position in the Netherlands and worldwide.