SOFIA (Bulgaria), December 14 (SeeNews) – Pharmaceutical company Roche expects a positive performance in Bulgaria next year when it plans to launch new drugs that will tap into unmet demand for medical treatment, the general manager of Roche Bulgaria said.
“This, of course, will depend to a high degree on the cost containment measures, imposed by the health authorities in the country,” Metodija Chadikovski told SeeNews in an emailed interview.
In 2015, Roche expects to reach mid-single-digit growth in sales in terms of value in Bulgaria, excluding the pay-back effect from Ordinance 10 of the country’s health ministry which sets the terms and conditions for the payment for drugs and medical products.
“Our latest estimates that factor in the pay-back effect point to a slight decrease in sales in terms of value for the same period,” Chadikovski said.
In terms of volume, Roche expects an increase in sales in Bulgaria this year due to more patients being treated with its drugs, especially in the fields of oncology and inflammatory diseases.
Roche has a 7.9% share on the segment for prescription drugs in Bulgaria, the official said, citing figures from consultancy firm IMS Health.
“Due to the nature of our products, this figure is much higher in the hospital segment, where we have a 27.5% market share. Our medium-term goals are to maintain those levels, although this depends on the regulations that would affect reimbursement decisions and the cost containment measures - fixed discounts on innovative drugs - of the health authorities,” Chadikovski said.
The overall drug market in Bulgaria is expected to grow by around 7% in 2015, Chadikovski said, quoting IMS Health data.
“This is driven mostly by the growth of the over-the-counter non-registered product segment. The prescription drugs will have more moderate growth, having in mind the effects of the austerity measures imposed by the Bulgarian health ministry on innovative drugs. Also the price decreases continue to influence the performance of the prescription segment,” the official said.
Another factor that plays a role is the international reference pricing policy in Bulgaria, which means Roche faces constant price reductions.
In 2015, Roche launched in Bulgaria one new product for the treatment of an aggressive type of breast cancer and one new subcutaneous formulation of a drug for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Next year, the company plans to launch here more innovative drugs for patients with breast cancer, skin cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. “We also plan to launch one of our established oncology products for the treatment of patients with cervical cancer,“ Chadikovski said.
Looking ahead, Roche will continue to build on its oncology portfolio in Bulgaria. “Our growth will come also from areas where innovation is much needed like pulmonary fibrosis, multiple sclerosis and asthma,” Chadikovski said.
Roche is investing directly around 735,000 levs ($412,000/376,000 euro) in clinical trials in Bulgaria this year, mainly in the field of oncology, and plans the same investment levels for 2016.
(1 euro=1.95583 Bulgarian levs)