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Shrinkage in Swedish pharmaceutical exports as the sector experiences a fast decline

Sunday, 07 July 2013
The Sweden's pharmaceutical industry has shrunk dramatically since the millennium as exports of medicinal products from Sweden dropped.

The decrease is large compared to many other countries such as Denmark, where exports have increased, according to data from the analytical organisation Oresunds Institute.

"A large proportion of Swedish exports have been drugs. There is a very high export value because the products are expensive and have contributed to the nation's prosperity," says Anders Olshov, an analyst at the Institute.

In Sweden, the number of employees in the pharmaceutical industry has fallen by over 40 percent since 2000, while Denmark has increased its workforce by over 60 percent.

Some of the problems have been attributed to the fall of large companies such as Astra, which in 2001, had the best-selling drug Losec. The merger with Zeneca has not yielded any new drugs to the extent required in order to grow.

Another reason has to do with Sweden persistent reliance on large companies to lead the industry whereas in Denmark, smaller companies are the biggest payers in the sector. Here such small companies operate like co-operatives as a way of pulling resource together. The advantage here is that each small company has its own niche and if it is hit by the market, it will not kill the psychology of the industry. With the large companies, though as seen in Sweden, when the drugs fails in the market the sector almost collapse and workers disintegrate.

Olshovs analysis, which will be published on Monday, is based on data from Statistic Sweden and annual reports from companies.

By Scancomark.com Team