Lebanon remains a strong pharmaceutical market in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. In BMI’supdated Business Environment Ratings for Q309, Lebanon holds a respectable 13th position. Thecountry’s pharmaceutical market was worth US$500mn in 2008, and is expected to grow to be worthUS$517mn in 2009. BMI forecast that the market will grow by around 21% over five years to reachUS$603mn by 2013, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.82%. Its low ranking isdue to a poor regulatory and intellectual property (IP) regime, small population size, political volatilityand limited healthcare finances.
The country’s IP environment remains lacking in relation to international standards, and drug patent lawsare a particularly contentious issue. In October 2008 the Lebanese Council of Ministers approvedimplementing regulations for the 2003 Law 530, which establishes a new process for registering andimporting pharmaceuticals. However, these regulations are yet to be implemented.
The Lebanese government introduced a new patent law in July 2000, granting 20 years of product patentprotection and replacing 1924 legislation. However, standards remain poor and enforcement lax. The USbasedPharmaceutical and Research Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) voiced concerns over a lack ofboth data exclusivity and pipeline protection, as well as the registration of unauthorised products. As aresult of various deficiencies, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) again listed Lebanon onits Priority Watch List in its 2007 Report on intellectual property rights (IPR), despite some progress in2006 by a Lebanese IP rights task force. PhRMA’s Special 301 Submission 2009 expressed on ongoingconcern that significant market access and IP barriers characterise the Lebanese market. Key problemsinclude lax IPR enforcement and the unfair use of commercial data aimed at securing marketing approval.
The Ministry of Health failed to take into account the comments of PhRMA member companies indeveloping the content of the implementing regulations for Law 530 despite PhRMA member companiesmeeting with the minister of economy and trade in 2008.
Despite the reduction in costs, the generic market remains underutilised in Lebanon as doctors do notgenerally have information on the availability of therapeutically equivalent generics and are encouragedto prescribe only branded drugs. Additionally, the fact that many generic products in the country are ofdubious quality is a deterrent, while the large number of pharmacists in the country makes for stiffercompetition. This creates a preference for selling expensive, patented and branded drugs to obtain tohigher profit margins.
The Lebanese Consumers Association (LCA) has emphasised that off-patent drugs should be betterregulated and promoted and that pharmacies should be encouraged to purchase more generic medicines sopatients can make an informed choice.
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