Israeli Drug Exports Continue to Climb

According to official statistics, Israel exported pharmaceuticals worth US$565mn in January through April 2005, a year-on-year leap of 39%. Meanwhile, imports in the four-month period also rose from US$227mn in 2004 to US$264mn in 2005.

The results confirm that Israel has a healthy trade surplus in pharmaceuticals, although a limited multinational sector manufacturing presence does exist in the country. In general, the data suggest Israel's generics-based drug industry is continuing to thrive. That said, it may only be a matter of time before issues regarding local patent law lead to even greater unavailability of innovative drugs, a problem which trade statistics may easily obscure.