发布时间：2008.7

摘要

In BMI’s new Q308 Business Environment Rankings for the 17 major Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)markets, Croatia is in joint 13th position, again sharing this place with Lithuania. Despite being relativelywell-developed, the Croatian pharmaceutical market remains judged as one of the least desirableinvestment destinations in the region due to its small size and spending per capita, being placed aboveonly Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Serbia. However, European Union (EU) accession negotiations have thepotential to improve operating conditions in the country and reduce the protection enjoyed by the localindustry.

In the meantime, generics, mostly of the relatively expensive branded variety, remain responsible for overhalf of the total prescription market by value. The use of novel and more expensive pharmaceuticals ishampered by healthcare debts, cost-containment initiatives and the support for the strong domesticgenerics industry in the face of distinct intellectual property (IP) deficiencies. In the coming years,however, regulatory and healthcare service improvements, as well as the increasing number ofprescriptions, are set to gradually facilitate market entry for such productsGenerally speaking, the forecast period will witness a continued dominance of prescription medicines,although over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are rapidly gaining in prominence, boosted by marketing andinformation campaigns. Value growth of the sector will, however, remain influenced by the fact thatCroatian consumers are extremely price-conscious, although vitamins and dietary products in particularare likely to beat the trend, supported by lifestyle changes.

In terms of the domestic industry, difficult operating conditions at home have prompted companies tochange their strategies. To this end, in February 2008, Belupo - the second-largest Croatian player -merged with Bosnia’s wholesaler Farmavita, as part of its strategy to strengthen its regional position.The merger will allow Belupo to improve its export capacity, with the company aiming to export around30% of its output by 2010. Similarly, dominant local player Pliva, which was recently acquired by USBarr Laboratories, is already divesting its operations in non-key markets, instead focusing on coreactivities in established markets.

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