AstraZeneca to build US$200m plant in China

Located in China Medical City (CMC) in Taizhou, Jiangsu province, the plant represents AstraZeneca’s largest investment in a single manufacturing facility globally. It will produce intravenous and oral solid medicines from the end of 2013.

AstraZeneca China president Mark Mallon said the firm had been putting down ‘deep roots in China for many years’ and the new manufacturing facility will provide Chinese patients in urban and rural communities with high quality medicines that are locally produced.

AstraZeneca has had a presence in China since 1993 and in 2010 had a turnover of more than US$1bn in the region.

The firm already operates a state-of-the-art manufacturing and supply site in Wuxi New District, Jiangsu Province.

It has also opened the AstraZeneca Innovation Centre China (ICC) that carries out biomarker research into cancer therapies specifically relevant for Chinese and Asian patients.

AstraZeneca’s key products in the region are Losec, Betaloc, Plendil, Nexium, Crestor, Symbicort and Iressa. Its Chinese operations currently employ around 5,000 people.

The Chinese pharmaceutical market grew from US$10bn in 2004 to US$41bn in 2010 and, according to IMS, is expected to grow to more than $100bn over the next four years.

IMS Health ups pharma sales view

LONDON - IMS Health upped its five-year growth rate view for the global pharmaceutical market by one percentage point to a 4% to 7% range in constant dollars, saying pricing flexibility and inventory management actions are contributing to much higher growth than anticipated in the U.S. this year. The pharmaceutical market in 2010 is expected to grow between 4% and 6%. U.S. market growth in 2009 is now expected to be 4.5% to 5.5%, and 3% to 5% in 2010.

China's pharmaceutical market primed to explode

NEW YORK - China's ambitious $124 billion effort to provide basic health coverage for the vast majority of its 1.3 billion citizens by 2011 is a brimming opportunity for large global drugmakers.

As growth in the U.S. and European markets remains sluggish, many giant pharmaceutical companies are expanding their sales forces, distribution channels and research operations in China to tap into the country's robust drug market -- expected to expand at about 22 percent annually over the next five years, said Mandy Chui, senior principal of IMS Health Inc.

Chui is the China expert at IMS Health, which provides market data on the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

"We see companies continuing to invest in China because the other markets are not growing," Chui said in an interview. "For companies, (China's growth) is certainly a good story to tell to the Street, right?"

With a huge and aging population, rapid urbanization and adoption of Western lifestyles that give rise to hypertension, obesity and other diseases, China is poised to become the world's third biggest pharmaceutical market by 2013, up from its current No. 5 spot, said Chui.

The $24.5 billion market is expected to swell to $68 billion to $78 billion by 2013, Chui said, leaving it behind only the United States and Japan.

"China is taking over from Germany and France," she said. "It's like a big wake-up call. If they (Big Pharma) are not in there at this point in time, all of them are not going to grow."

In the race to penetrate the China market, she said European drug makers such as Bayer AG, AstraZeneca PLC and Sanofi-Aventis SA have taken the lead.

U.S. drugmakers were once content to grow in their home market but are now eager to "play catch up," she said.

Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Officer Jeff Kindler said on Wednesday that China is an increasingly important priority for the world's biggest drugmaker, which aims to make vaccines a big part of its China effort.

"Not only is it necessary to be there, we are there," Kindler said in a separate interview.

Chui said drugs for diseases commonly seen in China, such as hepatitis B, will have blockbuster potential.

An estimated 30 million of China's people have chronic infections with hepatitis B -- a virus that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.

Many large pharmaceutical companies have geared up their outreach efforts to increase treatment rate for the liver disease that kills more than 300,000 Chinese a year, Chui said.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's hepatitis B drug Baraclude -- a pill introduced in 2006 -- has the clear market lead in China over GlaxoSmithKline PLC's antivirals Heptodin and Hepsera, Bayer AG's Nexavar and several interferons, she said. While no companies have any products of blockbuster scope, which typically means annual revenues of $1 billion or more, in China, Chui said some could arrive within five to 10 years.

Despite the price gap between generics and branded drugs, branded drugs that have lost patent protection still are favored in China as they are often deemed to have better quality and enjoy brand loyalty among large city hospitals, Chui said.

However, drugmakers from the United States, Europe and Japan still have to face tough competition from local Chinese companies, which have stronger sales and distribution channels across China's diverse provinces, especially in remote rural areas.

Chinese companies are clamoring to enter the market once Baraclude loses its patent protection in 2011, Chui said.

More than 30 companies have submitted applications seeking approval of the generic version of the drug, she said.

A Bristol-Myers spokesman, Brian Henry, said: "We have patents in force and patents pending in China (for Baraclude). We do not comment about potential competitors."

Other top-selling drugs in China that are made by multinational companies include blood-clot preventer Plavix, ulcer drug Losec, oral diabetes treatment Glucobay, the Novolin brand of insulin and antibiotic Avelox.

Multinationals currently hold 30 percent of the market with local drug companies taking 70 percent.

"Five years from now, I don't see any substantial change (to that ratio)," Chui said. "The whole pie is growing bigger."

China's health reform effort also includes the construction of 2,000 new county hospitals and upgrades of 30,000 township medical centers.

Chui said expansion of medical infrastructure will benefit makers of medical devices, vaccines and companies that specialize in medical imaging, diagnostics and electronic medical records.

Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc granted FDA approval for generic PLAN B

Speciality pharmaceutical company Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc (NYSE: WPI) reported on Wednesday that its subsidiary Watson Laboratories Inc has been granted approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for levonorgestrel tablets.

Levonorgestrel (0.75 mg), which is the generic equivalent to Duramed Pharmaceuticals' PLAN B, is indicated for the prevention of pregnancy following unprotected intercourse or contraceptive failure. This product is indicated for girls aged 17 years and younger is approved for prescription use only.

The company plans to market and launch the product shortly under the trade name Next Choice.

PLAN B, for the 12 months ending March 2009,Arecorded total US sales of approximately USD123m, of which approximately 10% are attributable to prescription sales, according to IMS sales data.

Par Pharmaceutical Begins Shipment of Generic Miacalcin(R)

WOODCLIFF LAKE, - Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. (NYSE: PRX) today announced that it began shipping calcitonin-salmon nasal spray to the trade. Calcitonin-salmon nasal spray is a generic version of Novartis' Miacalcin(R). Annual U.S. sales of Miacalcin were approximately $112 million in 2008, according to IMS Health data.

Important information about calcitonin-salmon nasal spray

Calcitonin-salmon nasal spray is indicated for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis in females greater than 5 years post menopause with low bone mass relative to healthy premenopausal females.

Calcitonin-salmon nasal spray should be reserved for patients who refuse or cannot tolerate estrogens or in whom estrogens are contraindicated.

Because Calcitonin is a polypeptide, the possibility of a systemic allergic reaction exists.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. To the extent any statements made in this news release contain information that is not historical, these statements are essentially forward-looking and, as such, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, which could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those expressed herein. Risk factors that might affect such forward-looking statements include those set forth in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, in other of the Company's filings with the SEC from time to time, including Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and on general industry and economic conditions. Any forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date hereof only, based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and, subject to any applicable law to the contrary, the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Half Of Pharm Cos' 2009 Growth To Come From Emerging Mkts-IMS

LONDON -A group of seven emerging markets will account for just over half of pharmaceutical companies' revenue growth in 2009, as Western drug makers to look to new territories to offset the loss of patents and pricing pressures at home, according to research published Wednesday by market research firm IMS Health Inc. (RX).

IMS also forecast a 1% to 2% decline in U.S. drug sales in 2009, as the industry's troubles are worsened by recession weighing on patients' ability to pay for healthcare, IMS Senior Vice President Murray Aitken told reporters.

IMS Health said the seven "pharmerging" markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Korea, Mexico and Turkey will account for 51% of pharmaceutical companies' global sales growth by the end of the year, compared with just 16% in 2006.

Some Western pharmaceutical companies have made significant investments in emerging markets during the past 12 months. France's Sanofi-Aventis S.A. (SNY) bought drug businesses in Brazil, Mexico and eastern Europe, while GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK.LN) bought a stake in South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. (APN.JO) and bought units in Pakistan and Egypt from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY).

Smaller Firms Gain Foothold as Big Drug Makers Shrink

THE news for workers in New Jersey’s big pharmaceutical companies has hardly been good lately. The state’s status as the capital of pharmaceutical research, manufacturing and marketing is being eroded generally by an evolving global marketplace and locally by the mergers of some of the biggest names in the pharmaceutical industry, each to be followed as surely as plop-plop fizz-fizz by plant closings and layoffs.

If there is any good news in all this, it is for the men and women in white lab coats: New Jersey’s quality of life, and its proximity to capital markets, have helped expand its biotechnical research sector, a sub-industry within pharmaceuticals, with relatively few, but very well-paid, employees, industry members say. But for the office workers, the manufacturers and the well-groomed men and women hired to hand out samples and ball point pens at doctors’ offices, the future is much darker.

“For New Jersey, there are definitely going to be some very consequential changes,” said Raymond Hill, general manager for consulting and services at IMS Health, a consulting firm. “New Jersey has been the heartland for pharma for a lot of companies, but the trend we see is a continued movement of these operations out of state and overseas, where it’s just a lot cheaper to manufacture drugs and to do clinical trials.”

Three major pharmaceutical companies with operations in New Jersey have mergers under way, and each one will involve disruptions in lives and careers. In January, Pfizer, based in Manhattan, announced its plan to purchase Wyeth, a big Madison company. In March, Merck, based in Readington Township in Hunterdon County, announced its intention to merge with Schering-Plough, located in Kenilworth; Merck officials said they expected to eliminate 15 percent of their 105,000-person global work force.

And on March 12, Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company with United States headquarters in Nutley, agreed to acquire full ownership of Genentech, the California genetic research company. It announced it would close its manufacturing plant in Nutley, for a loss of 400 jobs, and shift its marketing and sales offices to California.

“In 2008, we had 13.1 percent of the nation’s pharmaceutical jobs — that’s the good news,” said James W. Hughes, dean of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers. “The bad news is that in 1990 we had 20.2 percent, so what we are seeing is that the big new investment in this industry over the past decade has not been coming to New Jersey.”

In 1990, New Jersey was home to nearly 42,000 pharmaceutical jobs; by 2007, that number had shrunk to 37,800, Mr. Hughes said, a decline of 11 percent. That may not be a terrible drop, except when contrasted with the tremendous growth in the industry nationally during the same period, from 207,200 jobs in 1990 to 290,000 in 2008, an increase of 40 percent, according to Mr. Hughes.

Yet there is a bright spot in the way New Jersey has managed to sustain a strong presence of biomedical research, which is where new drugs are created, and where some of the highest-paying work is in the industry. Since 1998, the number of biotechnology research firms in the state has grown from 80 to 240, according to Debbie Hart, president of BioNJ, a biotech trade group. These companies are tiny, some with no more than two or three scientists, she said, but the average number of scientists these firms employ is about 100.

The reason those jobs are still here, and growing, has as much to do with money as with brainpower, Ms. Hart said, since the development of drugs is fueled by venture capital, and the companies like to stay close to investors.

“New Jersey is a very desirable location for biotech, because we have supportive government programs and we have the financial markets literally across the river in New York, as well as billions of dollars in venture capital on Nassau Street in Princeton,” Ms. Hart said. “And New Jersey is a great place to live.”

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. Reports Operating Results

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AUXL) filed Quarterly Report for the period ended 2009-03-31.
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops and markets products for urology and sexual health. Auxilium markets Testim 1% a topical testosterone gel for the treatment of hypogonadism. Auxilium is developing additional Testim line extensions as well as other products for urology and sexual health including an enzyme in Phase II for the treatment of Peyronie's Disease that may also prove useful for the treatment of Dupuytren's Disease. Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a market cap of $1.01 billion; its shares were traded at around $23.85 with and P/S ratio of 8.1.
Highlight of Business Operations:Net revenues. Net revenues increased $7.6 million, or 28%, to $34.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 from $27.1 million for the comparable 2008 period. This increase in net revenues resulted primarily from growth in Testim demand resulting from increased prescriptions and increases in pricing, net of discounts, rebates and coupons. According to National Prescription Audit (“NPA”) data from IMS Health (“IMS”), a pharmaceutical market research firm, Testim total prescriptions for the first quarter of 2009 grew 14.1% over the comparable period of 2008. We believe that Testim prescription growth in the 2009 period over the 2008 period was driven by physician and patient acceptance that

Testim provides better patient outcomes, the shift in prescriptions away from the testosterone patch product and the other gel product to Testim, and the continued focus of our sales force on the promotion of Testim to urologists, endocrinologists and select primary care physicians. Net revenues for the first quarter of 2009 benefited from price increases having a cumulative impact of 9% over the comparable 2008 period. Net revenues for the first quarter of 2009 and 2008 include $0.4 million and zero, respectively, of international product shipments of Testim and $0.8 million and $0.2 million, respectively, of revenues related to Testim up-front and milestone payments. Net revenues for the first quarter of 2009 also include amortization of the deferred revenue resulting from our collaboration agreement with Pfizer, Inc. (the “Pfizer Agreement”). Total product sales allowances for the first quarter of 2009 and 2008 amounted to 21.8% and 19.4%, respectively, of total sales of Testim in the U.S. The increase in this 2009 period over the comparable period in 2008 results from an increase in coupon usage for new patients.

Since inception through March 31, 2009, we have financed our product development, operations and capital expenditures primarily from private and public sales of equity securities. Since inception through March 31, 2009, we received net proceeds of approximately $284.6 million from private and public sales of equity securities and the exercise of stock options and warrants. We had $90.2 million and $113.9 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, respectively.

Cash used in operations was $21.1 million and $13.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. Cash used in operations for the three months ended March 31, 2009 resulted primarily from operating losses and the payment of costs accrued in 2008, including $6.4 million to BioSpecifics Technologies Corp for their share of the $75 million received under the Pfizer Agreement and approximately $3.0 million in transaction related costs associated with this agreement. Cash used in

Cash used in investing activities was $3.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 compared to cash provided of $0.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008. The cash impact of investing activities relates primarily to our investments in property and equipment and, in 2008, to the net effect of purchases and redemptions of short-term investments.

Cash provided by financing activities was $0.4 million and $0.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. Cash provided by financing activities in both periods results primarily from cash receipts from stock option exercises, net of treasury shares acquired in satisfaction of tax withholding requirements on stock awards to certain officers and employees.

IMS Health Sees a Bumpy 2009 for Global Pharmaceutical Market Forecast

IMS Healthreported that the value of the global pharmaceutical market is expected to grow 2.5 - 3.5 percent on a constant-dollar basis in 2009, two percentage points lower than indicated last October, as deterioration in the global economic environment continues to affect market demand. 

The updated forecast predicts global pharmaceutical sales exceeding $750 billion for the year, down from the $820+ billion forecast in October 2008, reflecting both the lower growth rate and currency exchange fluctuations. The sector will feel the impact of the economic climate -- but to a lesser extent than many other industries -- through 2010, when a rebound is expected. The conclusions are drawn from the latest release of IMS Market Prognosis, a series of strategic market forecasting publications that incorporate updated macroeconomic indicators provided by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

"To the now-familiar factors impeding market growth such as patent expirations, a slowdown in innovative product launches, and hurdles imposed by payers on market access and acceptance, we can now overlay the economic downturn," said Murray Aitken, senior vice president, Healthcare Insight, IMS. "There is a clear correlation between demand for medicines and key macroeconomic variables such as GDP, consumer spending and government expenditures. We see the worldwide financial crisis contributing to record-low sales growth this year. The pharmaceutical industry is not recession-proof, but it is insulated to a greater extent than other industries where spending is more discretionary."

According to the study, while the pharmaceutical market is expected to rebound as the global economy recovers, an unprecedented level of potential patent expirations in 2011 and 2012 will curb sales growth. The global compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for pharmaceutical market growth is forecast to be 3 - 6 percent through 2013.

In its latest analysis, IMS identifies the following key market dynamics:

- Economic conditions affect markets to varying degrees. The extent of the economic impact on each pharmaceutical market is influenced by the healthcare cost burden borne by patients, and the short- and long-term policy responses that governments implement. Countries where patients directly pay a high portion of their drug costs -- such as China, Brazil and the U.S. -- already are seeing the impact of changing consumer spending behavior. In more publicly funded markets including Turkey, Japan and France, policy responses may differ -- from stimulus programs that can have an indirect positive impact on pharmaceutical market growth, to the imposition of price cuts in response to budgetary constraints. In aggregate, expectations for 2009 economic growth in the 15 key developed and emerging countries have declined by 3.4 percentage points since IMS's October 2008 Market Prognosis Report -- driving most of the two percentage point decline in the 2009 forecast since that time.

- The U.S. pharmaceutical market is expected to contract in 2009. Pharmaceutical sales in the U.S. will decline by 1 - 2 percent in 2009, a historic low. While growth will return during parts of the forecast period, the overall five-year CAGR will be essentially flat. As the cost of medication shifts increasingly to patients, consumers are being forced to make difficult decisions about starting or continuing treatment. Federal policies may bolster demand for medicines over the forecast period, but the expiration of several blockbusters in 2011 will impact growth to the end of the forecast period in 2013.

- A new world order is apparent as pharmerging markets grow collectively at a 13 - 16 percent pace through 2013. The seven pharmerging markets will contribute more than half of global market growth in 2009 and sustain an average 40 percent contribution through 2013. China, which is currently the sixth-largest pharmaceutical market, will become the third largest by 2011. The pharmerging markets also will experience some volatility due to the economy, and local responses will vary.

- Mature markets will contribute lower growth. Among the developed markets of Japan, France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., Spain and Canada, their CAGR over the next five years will be 1-4 percent . Each market reflects a set of mechanisms to manage healthcare access and costs, including a growing emphasis on regional decision making, promotion of generic drug usage, and price reductions.

- Many treatments expected to be launched will be aimed at narrow patient populations. Approximately 50 - 60 new chemical or biological products are expected to be launched over the next two years. About two-thirds of these products will be specialist-driven, and many of them are aimed at niche indications and narrow patient populations. In 2009, patients can expect new treatment options for diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, insomnia, thrombosis, acute coronary syndrome, various types of cancer and meningitis. Potential launches in 2010 include therapies for resistant hypertension, osteoporosis, asthma, COPD and pneumococcal disease. Some of these products are first-in-class with novel mechanisms of action, while others offer different modes of treatment likely to improve efficacy and patient compliance. There are 6 - 10 potential blockbusters among expected launches in 2009 and 2010.

"The economic crisis is adding another layer of complexity to an already challenging market environment," noted Aitken. "To strengthen their resilience, pharmaceutical manufacturers must adapt their strategies and tactics -- re-evaluating their commercial models, pursuing opportunities in emerging markets, and strengthening the value proposition of their medicines in ways that resonate with payers and patients."

IMS Health is a provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

IMS Health Lowers 2009 Global Pharmaceutical Market Forecast to 2.5 – 3.5 Percent Growth

NORWALK, Conn.-IMS Health (NYSE: RX) reported today that the value of the global pharmaceutical market is expected to grow 2.5 - 3.5 percent on a constant-dollar basis in 2009, two percentage points lower than indicated last October, as deterioration in the global economic environment continues to affect market demand. The updated forecast predicts global pharmaceutical sales exceeding $750 billion for the year, down from the $820+ billion forecast in October 2008, reflecting both the lower growth rate and currency exchange fluctuations. The sector will feel the impact of the economic climate -- but to a lesser extent than many other industries -- through 2010, when a rebound is expected. The conclusions are drawn from the latest release of IMS Market Prognosis™, a series of strategic market forecasting publications that incorporate updated macroeconomic indicators provided by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

“To the now-familiar factors impeding market growth such as patent expirations, a slowdown in innovative product launches, and hurdles imposed by payers on market access and acceptance, we can now overlay the economic downturn,” said Murray Aitken, senior vice president, Healthcare Insight, IMS. “There is a clear correlation between demand for medicines and key macroeconomic variables such as GDP, consumer spending and government expenditures. We see the worldwide financial crisis contributing to record-low sales growth this year. The pharmaceutical industry is not recession-proof, but it is insulated to a greater extent than other industries where spending is more discretionary.”

While the pharmaceutical market is expected to rebound as the global economy recovers, an unprecedented level of potential patent expirations in 2011 and 2012 will curb sales growth. The global compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for pharmaceutical market growth is forecast to be 3 - 6 percent through 2013.

In its latest analysis, IMS identifies the following key market dynamics:

Economic conditions affect markets to varying degrees. The extent of the economic impact on each pharmaceutical market is influenced by the healthcare cost burden borne by patients, and the short- and long-term policy responses that governments implement. Countries where patients directly pay a high portion of their drug costs -- such as China, Brazil and the U.S. -- already are seeing the impact of changing consumer spending behavior. In more publicly funded markets including Turkey, Japan and France, policy responses may differ -- from stimulus programs that can have an indirect positive impact on pharmaceutical market growth, to the imposition of price cuts in response to budgetary constraints. In aggregate, expectations for 2009 economic growth in the 15 key developed and emerging countries have declined by 3.4 percentage points since IMS’s October 2008 Market Prognosis Report -- driving most of the two percentage point decline in the 2009 forecast since that time.

The U.S. pharmaceutical market is expected to contract in 2009. Pharmaceutical sales in the U.S. will decline by 1 - 2 percent in 2009, a historic low. While growth will return during parts of the forecast period, the overall five-year CAGR will be essentially flat. As the cost of medication shifts increasingly to patients, consumers are being forced to make difficult decisions about starting or continuing treatment. Federal policies may bolster demand for medicines over the forecast period, but the expiration of several blockbusters in 2011 will impact growth to the end of the forecast period in 2013.

A new world order is apparent as pharmerging markets grow collectively at a 13 - 16 percent pace through 2013. The seven pharmerging markets will contribute more than half of global market growth in 2009 and sustain an average 40 percent contribution through 2013. China, which is currently the sixth-largest pharmaceutical market, will become the third largest by 2011. The pharmerging markets also will experience some volatility due to the economy, and local responses will vary.

Mature markets will contribute lower growth. Among the developed markets of Japan, France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., Spain and Canada, their CAGR over the next five years will be 1-4 percent . Each market reflects a unique set of mechanisms to manage healthcare access and costs, including a growing emphasis on regional decision making, promotion of generic drug usage, and price reductions.

Many innovative treatments expected to be launched will be aimed at narrow patient populations. Approximately 50 - 60 new chemical or biological products are expected to be launched over the next two years. About two-thirds of these products will be specialist-driven, and many of them are aimed at niche indications and narrow patient populations. In 2009, patients can expect new treatment options for diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, insomnia, thrombosis, acute coronary syndrome, various types of cancer and meningitis. Potential launches in 2010 include therapies for resistant hypertension, osteoporosis, asthma, COPD and pneumococcal disease. Some of these products are first-in-class with novel mechanisms of action, while others offer different modes of treatment likely to improve efficacy and patient compliance. There are 6 - 10 potential blockbusters among expected launches in 2009 and 2010.

“The economic crisis is adding another layer of complexity to an already challenging market environment,” noted Aitken. “To strengthen their resilience, pharmaceutical manufacturers must adapt their strategies and tactics -- re-evaluating their commercial models, pursuing opportunities in emerging markets, and strengthening the value proposition of their medicines in ways that resonate with payers and patients.”

UPDATE 1-IMS lowers global phamaceutical forecast for 2009

* IMS now sees global growth of 2.5-3.5 pct

* Sees $750 bln 2009 sales, down from prior $820 bln view

* US market to decline by 1-2 percent

* China set to become 3rd largest market in 2011

NEW YORK, - The worldwide economic crisis is taking a tougher-than-expected toll on the pharmaceutical market, according to the leading tracker of prescription drug data.

IMS Health Inc (RX.N) now expects the global pharmaceutical market to grow by an anemic 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent in 2009, down 2 percentage points from the forecast it issued six months earlier, and the lowest growth rate in at least 25 years.

"We see the worldwide financial crisis contributing to record-low sales growth this year," Murray Aitken, senior vice president for Healthcare Insight at IMS, said in a statement.

Traditionally considered more impervious to economic downturns than other sectors, the pharmaceutical industry is feeling the pinch this time. Sales in the world's largest market, the United States, are seen declining by 1 percent to 2 percent in 2009 -- the first decline since IMS started tracking U.S. sales data in 1957.

With the first quarter of the year in the books, IMS now foresees global pharmaceutical sales of $750 billion, down from the $820 billion it forecast for 2009 last October.

"To the now familiar factors impeding market growth, such as patent expirations, a slowdown in innovative product launches, and hurdles imposed by payers on market access, we can now overlay the economic downturn," Aitken said.

A Thomson Reuters health care survey released this week found that one in five U.S. households postponed or canceled medical care over the past year. IMS said it has seen a reduction in patients beginning chronic therapy regimens in areas such as diabetes, hypertension, insomnia and depression.

Patent expirations of a number of billion-dollar drugs in 2011 will impact U.S. growth to the end of the forecast period in 2013, according to IMS.

Many of the world's top selling medicines will face competition from cheaper generic versions over the next few years, including Pfizer Inc's (PFE.N) more than $12 billion a year cholesterol fighter Lipitor in 2011. Sales of branded drugs quickly evaporate when faced with generic versions.

Volatility in currency markets caused by the reeling global economy also impacted the projected global growth rate once local currencies were converted into U.S. dollars, IMS said.

The emerging pharmaceutical markets of China, Brazil, India, Korea, Mexico, Turkey and Russia are expected to see sales grow by 13 percent to 16 percent through 2013, IMS said.

The forecast sees China becoming the third-largest market by 2011, up from its current sixth place ranking.

By contrast, IMS sees a compound annual growth rate of just 1-4 percent through 2013 from the mature markets of Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Spain and Canada.

Overall, IMS projects global sales to rise by 3-6 percent a year on average through 2013.

Some two thirds of the 50 to 60 new medicines expected to be launched over the next two years will be specialist-driven drugs aimed at narrow patient populations, IMS predicted.

It sees six to 10 drugs with billion-dollar a year potential among the expected 2009 and 2010 launches. The likely winners cited by IMS include Eli Lilly and Co's (LLY.N) blood clot preventer prasugrel, Amgen Inc's (AMGN.O) osteoporosis treatment denosumab, Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO) diabetes medicine liraglutide, and the Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) psoriasis treatment ustekinumab.

But predicting blockbusters can be a tricky proposition. There have been some high profile busts among drugs once listed as future 'can't miss' blockbusters, including the Sanofi-Aventis(SASY.PA) weight loss pill Acomplia, that proved to be a major disappointment, and a Pfizer cholesterol drug, torcetrapib, that never reached the market.