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The Pharmaceutical Market: South Korea
Management Report
Published: January 2010
Pages: 64
Tables: For full details, please email keithw@cmsinfo.com
From: GBP 595.00 Buy Now!
Research from: Espicom
Sector: Prescription Medicines
Espicom’s in-depth pharmaceutical market reports are ideal for executives wanting to understand the key drivers in pharmaceutical markets and have access to a wealth of statistical data. Each report opens with an outlook section that provides analysis of the market, 5-year market forecasts, national data projections, market outlook and key developments such as regulation, pricing/reimbursement, intellectual property, health facilities and government policy. The report also provides extensive background information, population trends, health status, health expenditure, organisation & administration, hospital services, medical personnel, healthcare development, market access information, trade data for raw materials and finished products and essential industry contacts. Included with the report are 3 free quarterly updated outlook reports, enabling you to keep up to date with market developments for a year.
Espicom's highly regarded world pharmaceutical market reports have been redesigned to provide enhanced strategic intelligence in a user-friendly format. Each report provides in-depth information, setting the pharmaceutical market in context. The reports provide:
Five-year projections for economic, demographic, health expenditure, health workforce and pharmaceutical market indicators.
Specialised intelligence on OTCs, generics, biologics and biosimilars.
Exclusive economic and demographic data from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for each market in the series.
A separate statistical health file, comprising health expenditure, health infrastructure, health services and health personnel.
The reports are updated quarterly, providing you with the latest information for a full year. In addition, the service will keep you up to date with market and industry news on a regular basis.
SOUTH KOREA - MARKET REVIEW
South Korea is entrenched in parliamentary disagreements between the two main parties, with some fearing Korea is losing its press freedom, which brings back bad memories of the situation pre-1987. Also, the situation with North Korea is constantly changing, with a naval clash occurring recently between the two countries. South Korea’s economy was quite badly affected by the global recession, contracting by 1.0%, but should grow from 2010 onwards by an average of 3.7% per annum, as trade with countries such as the USA increases. Legally, South Korea still has problems with regards to data exclusivity, as companies are obliged to submit all research data publicly, which generic companies can then take advantage of. However, the KORUS FTA should improve matters in the coming years, and South Korea was finally removed from the USTR’s Special 301 Watch List in 2009.
Every South Korean citizen is entitled to free healthcare through universal insurance coverage, but in many cases they end up paying for a lot of drugs out of their own pockets as the insurance premiums are not high enough; the government is attempting to address this problem, which should benefit both South Korean citizens and pharmaceutical companies. Health expenditure is modest if expressed as percentage of GDP, at 6.1%, especially compared to other countries. However, health expenditure is expected to rise considerably over the forecast period, both in total and per capita terms. South Korea has advanced hospitals, but its rate of beds per thousand population is fairly low, and is only slightly higher than China. This is going to stay the same as South Korea attempts to cope with its ageing population.
Although the KORUS FTA and the EU FTA will have a negative impact on smaller Korean generic companies, the impact should not be too serious on larger domestic generic producers. However, the South Korean generic industry has not taken these FTA’s well, as it believes it will damage an industry that is already under strain as a result of regular government price cuts. In order to compete, Korean companies are investing profits from their generic sales into “super-generics”; these are generics which are brought to market at the same time as patent expiry. However, this requires capital and R&D pipelines that many Korean companies simply do not possess. That said, generic drugs still, by far, dominate the South Korean pharmaceutical market.
South Korea has a long history in manufacturing biologics. The emergence of a number of Korean companies, including SK Chemicals and Chon Kun Dang, manufacturing generic versions of Roche’s Tamiflu (oseltamivir), indicates that some Korean companies are performing strongly. It also indicates that larger companies in the biosimilar sector have made considerable strides in R&D, manufacturing and distribution in recent years. SK Chemicals, for example, believes that it could have its version of oseltamivir for sale in less than a month after marketing approval is given. This is arguably the result of massive investment in this sector from both government agencies, such as the one announced in August 2009, and multinational companies, such as Novartis’ announcement in October 2009.
Five-year projections for economic, demographic, health expenditure, health workforce and pharmaceutical market indicators.
Specialised intelligence on OTCs, generics, biologics and biosimilars.
Exclusive economic and demographic data from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for each market in the series.
A separate statistical health file, comprising health expenditure, health infrastructure, health services and health personnel.
The reports are updated quarterly, providing you with the latest information for a full year. In addition, the service will keep you up to date with market and industry news on a regular basis.
SOUTH KOREA - MARKET REVIEW
South Korea is entrenched in parliamentary disagreements between the two main parties, with some fearing Korea is losing its press freedom, which brings back bad memories of the situation pre-1987. Also, the situation with North Korea is constantly changing, with a naval clash occurring recently between the two countries. South Korea’s economy was quite badly affected by the global recession, contracting by 1.0%, but should grow from 2010 onwards by an average of 3.7% per annum, as trade with countries such as the USA increases. Legally, South Korea still has problems with regards to data exclusivity, as companies are obliged to submit all research data publicly, which generic companies can then take advantage of. However, the KORUS FTA should improve matters in the coming years, and South Korea was finally removed from the USTR’s Special 301 Watch List in 2009.
Every South Korean citizen is entitled to free healthcare through universal insurance coverage, but in many cases they end up paying for a lot of drugs out of their own pockets as the insurance premiums are not high enough; the government is attempting to address this problem, which should benefit both South Korean citizens and pharmaceutical companies. Health expenditure is modest if expressed as percentage of GDP, at 6.1%, especially compared to other countries. However, health expenditure is expected to rise considerably over the forecast period, both in total and per capita terms. South Korea has advanced hospitals, but its rate of beds per thousand population is fairly low, and is only slightly higher than China. This is going to stay the same as South Korea attempts to cope with its ageing population.
Although the KORUS FTA and the EU FTA will have a negative impact on smaller Korean generic companies, the impact should not be too serious on larger domestic generic producers. However, the South Korean generic industry has not taken these FTA’s well, as it believes it will damage an industry that is already under strain as a result of regular government price cuts. In order to compete, Korean companies are investing profits from their generic sales into “super-generics”; these are generics which are brought to market at the same time as patent expiry. However, this requires capital and R&D pipelines that many Korean companies simply do not possess. That said, generic drugs still, by far, dominate the South Korean pharmaceutical market.
South Korea has a long history in manufacturing biologics. The emergence of a number of Korean companies, including SK Chemicals and Chon Kun Dang, manufacturing generic versions of Roche’s Tamiflu (oseltamivir), indicates that some Korean companies are performing strongly. It also indicates that larger companies in the biosimilar sector have made considerable strides in R&D, manufacturing and distribution in recent years. SK Chemicals, for example, believes that it could have its version of oseltamivir for sale in less than a month after marketing approval is given. This is arguably the result of massive investment in this sector from both government agencies, such as the one announced in August 2009, and multinational companies, such as Novartis’ announcement in October 2009.