Indonesia's Healthcare Reforms Create Opportunities But Also Present New Market Access Hurdles for the Multinational Pharmaceutical Industry

BURLINGTON, Mass., Aug. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that Indonesia's rapidly evolving healthcare reforms, regulatory requirements, and political realities offer significant challenges as well as attractive opportunities for research-based pharmaceutical companies. In 2012, two-thirds of the Indonesian population was covered by some form of health insurance, which will be expanded to all of its citizens by 2019, under the government's bold plans for a national health insurance (NHI) system that comes into effect from 2014.

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The Indonesia: Market Access Tracker service finds that, although NHI will provide greater access to medicines to Indonesia's vast population, the roll-out of NHI will also bring with it downward pressures on pricing and reimbursement of patent-protected pharmaceuticals. Existing government-funded insurance offers limited coverage of innovative medicines, and the level of coverage of originator brands in the NHI system remains uncertain. In 2013, the government introduced regulations for systematic health technology assessment in evaluating new medical interventions under the NHI to support rational drug use, and also signaled its intention to subject branded medicines to new price-control mechanisms.

The findings also reveal that multinational pharmaceutical companies are concerned about protectionist government policies in Indonesia, including local manufacturing requirements for drug registration, which are designed to develop a strong domestic pharmaceutical industry. Nevertheless, several major multinational companies have given a clear indication of their ambitions for growth in the Indonesian pharmaceutical market by recently investing in local facilities or establishing local collaborations.

"By mature-market standards, Indonesia's pharmaceutical sector is modest in size but growing rapidly," said Decision Resources Consultant Nikhil Mehta, M. Eng. "Indonesia boasts the world's 16th-largest economy, which is outpacing many of its regional peers through strong domestic demand and consumption from the country's large, youthful, increasingly skilled and rapidly urbanizing population. We anticipate that increasing purchasing power in the country, growing public awareness of the importance of healthcare and the government's plan to achieve universal healthcare coverage will drive further pharmaceutical market growth over the next five to ten years."

About Decision Resources
Decision Resources (www.decisionresources.com) is a world leader in market research publications, advisory services and consulting designed to help clients shape strategy, allocate resources and master their chosen markets. Decision Resources is a Decision Resources Group company.

About Decision Resources Group
Decision Resources Group is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers best-in-class, high-value information and insights on important sectors of the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions. Please visit Decision Resources Group at www.DecisionResourcesGroup.com.

All company, brand, or product names contained in this document may be trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.

SOURCE Decision Resources

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