'New' EU Countries Seeing Rapid Pharmaceutical Growth

The pharmaceutical markets of the 10 European Union (EU) member countries added to the EU in 2004 have been rapidly expanding in recent years, despite more subdued growth in the rest of the region, according to a new research report.

The drug markets in the 10 states added to the EU on May 1, 2004, have been growing at a rate of 16.5 percent during the past five years, according to research conducted by London-based analysts Frost & Sullivan. In contrast, the pharmaceutical markets in the other EU nations have been growing at a steady rate of 8 percent annually.

The countries that joined the EU in 2004 include Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The pharmaceutical market in these countries is estimated at approximately $7 billion and represents roughly 8 percent of the EU 15 market, Frost & Sullivan said.