Medicine consumption in Australia to grow to AU$15.8b by 2022: Fitch

The country will remain one of the most attractive markets globally.

With the Australian government’s Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS) that aims to make high-value prescribed drugs more accessible to the people, medicine consumption is predicted to rise with a five-year compound annual growth rate of 3.7% from AU$13.2b to AU$15.8b by 2022.

According to an analysis by Fitch Solutions, this will be driven by the increasing prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases as well as the country’s ageing population.

However, Fitch warns that the scheme is also providing drugmakers in Australia a challenging business environment as the pressure on pharmaceutical’s pricing continues to grow.

“Despite the downside risks presented by the government's negotiations with the PBS and the likelihood of the government implementing further healthcare cost-efficiencies, we believe Australia will remain one of the region's most attractive markets for both innovative and generic drug makers,” Fitch assured.

As the country’s position on generic medicines and biosimilars remains a commercial threat to multinational pharmaceutical firms, the government’s increasing focus on these segments will allow generic drugs to become an important area.

Multinational pharmaceutical also face a commercial threat with the country’s position on generic medicines and biosimilars. Because of this, the government is also making moves supporting these segments and to also increase their uptake.