Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/25/2013 -- Portugal continues to struggle in the face of continued austerity measures, cuts and the financial obligations of its EU, ECB and IMF economic adjustment package, approved in May 2011. Its prospects deteriorated further in Q213, following the publication of PhRMA's Special 301 Submission report for 2013. This has called for Portugal to be placed on the Priority Watch List, because of concerns such as that patent protection is not as robust as it should be, that pharmaceutical firms are finding launching products a lengthy process, and that reimbursement procedures are also subject to delays. This will do little to encourage multinationals to invest in Portugal's pharmaceutical and healthcare market. There is some - limited - good news. Exports of pharmaceuticals are growing at a faster rate than exports of other products, suggesting that domestic manufacturers are turning to opportunities abroad because of a lack of sales nationally. Germany, the UK and Angola are key export markets.

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Headline Expenditure Projections

- Pharmaceuticals: EUR3.67bn (US$4.66bn) in 2012 to EUR3.46bn (US$4.60bn) in 2013; -5.9% in local currency and -1.4% in US dollar terms. Forecast raised slightly from Q213.
- Healthcare: EUR16.79bn (US$21.32bn) in 2012 to EUR16.53bn (US$21.99bn) in 2013; -1.5% in local currency and +3.1% in US dollar terms. Forecast lowered from Q213.

Risk/Rewards Rating: In Q313, Portugal sat at the bottom of our Pharmaceutical Risk/Reward Rating (RRR) for Western Europe, with a score of 59 out of 100. Portugal posts below regional average scores for all indicators.

Key Trends & Developments

- In its Special 301 report for 2013, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PHRMA) identified several key areas of concern for pharmaceutical firms operating in Portugal, including ineffective patent enforcement, unrealistic budget expectations, and problems relating to public pricing and reimbursement processes. PhRMA has placed Portugal on its 'Priority Watch List'.
- According to figures published by Health Cluster Portugal, drug exports increased by 8% year-on-year in 2012, outperforming revenues generated by all product exports, which climbed by 5.8% in the same period. Portugal's national statistics institute claims that drug exports climbed even higher: by 12% to a value of EUR609mn in 2012.
- In April 2013, Bial signed a licensing agreement with Japan's Ono Pharmaceutical Company for the development and marketing of a treatment for Parkinson's disease, called Opicapone. In the same month, Hovione entered into a co-promotion and collaboration agreement with Ligand Pharmaceuticals, a USbased biotech firm, for Captisol, a compound that optimises drug solubility and stability.

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