Recently published research from Business Monitor International, "Croatia Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Report Q4 2013", is now available at Fast Market Research

Boston, MA -- (SBWire) -- 10/02/2013 --The Croatian pharmaceutical market continues to pose a challenging environment to domestic and international drugmakers, but we believe EU accession will ease the regulatory burden as legislation is harmonised with EU norms. However, the imposition of across-the-board price cuts later in 2013 will weigh heavily on the pharmaceutical market. We forecast weak pharmaceutical market growth for the next decade due to the high levels of public debt and chronic liquidity issues within the healthcare system and pharmaceutical supply chain. Healthcare spending is projected to rise over the next 10 years, in line with a rapidly ageing population, although there is a significant risk that the state will apply restrictions to blunt its growth.

Headline Expenditure Projections

- Pharmaceuticals: HRK7.50bn (US$1.28bn) in 2012 to HRK6.95bn (US$1.19bn) in 2013; -7.3% in local currency and -7.4% in US dollar terms. Forecast changed from Q313, due to announcements of price cuts from the Health Ministry.
- Healthcare: HRK25.46bn (US$4.35bn) in 2012 to HRK27.46bn (US$4.69bn) in 2013; 7.8% in local currency and 7.7% in US dollar terms. Forecast upwardly revised from Q313, owing to updated World Health Organization figures and the potential for significant wage cuts to public sector healthcare workers.

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Risk/Reward Rating:

Croatia's Risk Reward Rating remains unchanged from Q313. Despite the country's accession to the EU, market dynamics remain subdued, with moderate growth over the long term. Croatia scores 45.8 out of 100 in our Risk/Reward Ratings, making it the 18th most attractive pharmaceutical market in Central and Eastern Europe.

Key Trends And Developments:

- In July 2013 Croatian healthcare workers lost their collective bargaining rights, paving the way for potential cuts to the number of doctors and health workers, or across-the-board wage cuts for medical staff employed by public hospitals.
- In June 2013 the Croatian government decided to terminate all agreements for services from private hospitals. Previously, the HZZO paid almost HRK500mn (US$87mn) to private providers for services provided, but these will now migrate over to public polyclinics, which are expected to come under stress from an influx of new patients.
- Health minister, Rajko Ostojic, announced an across-the-board price cut of 15-20% for medicines on the Croatian positive reimbursement list on March 8 2013. The minister also announced unified public procurement would enable cost savings of HRK600mn (US$103mn). The Croatian pharmaceutical market is coming under intense contractionary pressure in 2013. The HZZO announced its 2013 budget for prescription drugs would be reduced from HRK3.1bn (US$530mn) to HRK2.8bn (US$480mn), combined with price controls introduced on expensive medicines in November 2012.

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