|
|
| • EXCH RATES |
|
Baht/$ 33.46/49
Bid/Ask
|
GOLD |
15,250
+ 50
|
|
Sales dip as cancer drug faces a generic
NAREERAT WIRIYAPONG
The Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis expects to post slower growth of 15% this year in Thailand, down from 20%, partly because of government-imposed compulsory licensing (CL) of its cancer drug early this year.
The forecast by Novartis (Thailand) is based on expected growth of 12% overall in the 80-billion-baht Thai pharmaceutical market, down from 15% last year, due to the weak economy.
The decline would be seen mostly in the over-the-counter (OTC) market and animal medicines, said Sirilak Suteekul, country president of Novartis (Thailand).
Given current economic conditions, most people tend to eat less so do buying the medicines, she said.
Novartis, the world's third largest pharmaceutical maker after US-based Pfizer and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline, holds a 4.4% share in the Thai market behind Pfizer and Sanofi-Aventis.
The company recorded total sales of three billion baht in 2007, up 20% from a year earlier, Ms Sirilak said.
Early this year, the Thai government imposed CL on Letrozole, a cancer drug developed by Novartis, and now imports a generic version from India. The government decided not to break the patent on Imatinib, another cancer treatment, after Novartis agreed to continue giving away certain medicines in Thailand.
Despite the fact that it expects its sales growth to outpace the market rate, the company still believes the Thai government needs to provide better protection to intellectual property rights including drug patents, said Alexandre Jetzer, a member of the Swiss multinational's board of directors.
''To attract foreign investment and retain research and development investments, the government will need to ensure that companies are able to benefit from successful research by providing stronger protection of intellectual property rights as well as a clear and effective process for commercialisation,'' said Mr Jetzer in Basel.
He said Novartis's continuing investments would focus on supporting R&D by concentrating on Thailand's untapped natural products as sources for global drug development.
''We believe in Thailand's potential for R&D,'' he said. ''It has a deep resource base in terms of biodiversity and natural compounds as potential sources for innovative medicines.''
As well, he said, the country has a good pool of scientific talent and a strong knowledge base.
Novartis yesterday announced the extension by three years for its drug development partnership with the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Biotec).
The co-operation started in 2005 to explore potential uses of natural compounds and micro-organisms in innovative medicines. More than 2,500 microbial isolates and 70 pure compounds have been investigated so far.
Under the second phase of the partnership, Biotec would share microorganisms and purified natural compounds with Novartis to undergo full drug discovery and development.
Biotec, however, will retain its ownership of the microorganisms and natural compounds for pursuing its research.
Novartis posted global revenue of about $40 billion in 2007, of which 63% was generated from the pharmaceutical business. Last year, the company invested $6.4 billion in R&D.
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Next
