Israel Set for “Modest” Pharma Growth

Israel’s pharmaceutical market value will increase from approximately $1.9 billion in 2013 to $2.34 billion, a compound annual growth rate of 2.8%, by 2020, says UK research and consulting firm GlobalData. This modest growth will driven by “medical technology advances, high R&D expenditure and a robust economy”.The country’s pharmaceutical exports were worth approximately $7.1 billion in 2013, more than four times the value of its imports, which was just over $1.7 billion. Pharmaceuticals represent the largest and most established sector of the Israeli life science industry, with a total of 76 companies, 22% of which are involved in drug discovery and 17% in drug delivery, said Joshua Owide, GlobalData’s Director of Healthcare Industry Dynamics.

The country also has a highly skilled population; it is ranked second in the world for percentage of engineers and scientists in the workforce. Owide adds: “Approximately 24% of Israel’s workers hold university degrees, placing it third among the industrialized countries, after the US and Netherlands.”

Johnson and Johnson’s Doxil for ovarian cancer was originally developed at the Hadassah Medical Center, and Novartis’ Exelon, for Alzheimer’s disease, originated from research conducted at the Hebrew University.