Saudi Arabia pharma market to reach $4.7bn by 2016

Saudi Arabia is one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the Middle East and is due to experience steady growth.

Saudi Arabia's pharmaceutical market is expected to grow by 4.7 per cent a year to reach $4.7 billion by 2016, a new report suggests.

Deloitte's latest report on the outlook for global life sciences notes that Saudi Arabia boasts one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the Middle East.

Looking at the GCC states as a whole - including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - the report suggests that the healthcare market will be boosted by growing populations and increasing levels of health care expenditure.

It also highlights the global move away from the development of blockbuster drugs to the evolution of business portfolios and focus on emerging markets.

Herve Ballantyne, healthcare industry leader at Deloitte Middle East, observed: "Two practices we are witnessing are the use of high-value biologic therapies in the developed markets, as well as marketing branded and off-patent medicines in the fast-growing emerging markets, including the Middle East countries."