The German pharmaceutical market is the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world after the US and Japan. Based on the latest report of GlobalData “CountryFocus: Healthcare, Regulatory and Reimbursement Landscape – Germany”:

  • The market value increased from €37.8 billion in 2009 to €52.9 billion in 2016, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.9%.
  • The value of the market is expected to reach €67.2 billion ($86.3 billion) in 2021.
  • The medical device market was valued at $21.1 billion in 2009 and increased to $27.5 billion in 2016. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% from $28.8 billion in 2017 to $34.4 billion in 2021.
  • 1170 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with more than 128,000 workers (2015) operate in Germany.
  • German companies invest EUR 6.2 billion (2016) annually in research and development.

German Pharma R&D

In 2016 German pharmaceutical companies spent Eur 6 billion in R&D, that means 13% of the revenue (more than all others industry sector in the country). Nearly 8% of all employers in this sector works in research. The innovation-friendly environment is well maintained by clusters like “Bioregions”, regional initiatives that put together different stakeholders.

Investment climate

Based on world Economic Forum, Germany is one of the world best location in terms of planning and operating security. Moreover, Germany offers one of the most competitive tax systems of the big industrialised countries. In fact, the average tax burden for corporations in below 30%. The market in free and open for investments in practically all industry sectors. Moreover, particularly in Eurozone, Germany is considered an economic stable force. Looking at labor costs, Germany has maintained competitive labor costs. That is an important factor at the same level of the quality of the workforce of the country. In fact, more that 80% of the Germany workforce has receive vocational training or is in possession of an academic degree.

Production

The pharmaceutical industry in Germany manufactures pharmaceutical products worth over EUR 29 billion annually (2016). The country has become the second EU player in production, behind Italy that recently arrived at EUR 31 billion.