BMI Industry View
BMI View: The removal of
economic sanctions heralds an era of uncertainty for Iran's pharmaceutical
market. Underlying issues regarding the operating environment will
prevent an immediate uptick in multinational drugmaker interest; rather, this
will be a gradual process. Nevertheless, there has been a notable boost in
international cooperation with European counterparts in particular over the past
six months. This will support the Iranian government's aim to attract greater
direct investment from foreign pharmaceutical companies.
Headline Expenditure Projections
■ Pharmaceuticals: IRR69.55trn (USD1.93bn) in 2015 to IRR79.49trn (USD1.99bn) in 2016; +14.3% in local currency terms and +2.9% in US dollar terms. Forecast downgraded from previous quarter.
■ Healthcare: IRR800.60trn
(USD22.24bn) in 2015 to IRR900.81trn (USD22.52bn) in 2016; +12.5% in local
currency terms and +1.3% in US dollar terms. Forecast upgraded from previous
quarter.
Risk/Reward Index
Iran scores 40.4 out of 100 in terms of
its attractiveness as a destination to launch innovative pharmaceuticals in
Q416, maintaining its score from the previous quarter, according to BMI's
Risk/Reward Index. Iran's position in the index remains stationary at 15th out
of 31 countries in the Middle East and Africa region. Its overall score
currently sits exactly at the regional average of 40.4.
Generally speaking, Iran benefits from a large and growing population and relatively widespread access to healthcare services. However, its regulatory regime - including intellectual property rights and economic…