Espicom's in-depth pharmaceutical market reports are ideal for executives wanting to understand the key drivers in pharmaceutical markets and have access to a wealth of statistical data. Each report opens with an outlook section that provides analysis of the market, 5-year market forecasts, national data projections, market outlook and key developments such as regulation, pricing/reimbursement, intellectual property, health facilities and government policy. The report also provides extensive background information, population trends, health status, health expenditure, organisation & administration, hospital services, medical personnel, healthcare development, market access information, trade data for raw materials and finished products and essential industry contacts. Included with the report are 3 free quarterly updated outlook reports, enabling you to keep up to date with market developments for a year. In recent years, Lithuania has made a degree of economic progress, albeit hampered by political uncertainty and a series of weak governments. One key aim of successive governments has been to reorient the country's political and economic structure away from the former USSR, and towards Western Europe. The success of this policy is clear; Lithuania is one of the ten countries that joined the European Union in 2004.

The healthcare system is showing signs of improved efficiency, although the country has made scant progress in reducing its Soviet-level oversupply of beds. Lithuania does have a tradition of scientific expertise and well-trained medical staff, although the whole sector is in need of modernisation.

Funding for healthcare in Lithuania is principally through the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund. Compulsory insurance came into force in 1997, following a delay in its implementation. It should provide free basic treatment to the insured population, but unofficial payments still occur, to cover the cost of pharmaceuticals and staff wages. Private expenditure has increased in recent years and amounted to a quarter of total spending in 2003.

The Lithuanian pharmaceutical market is small and predominantly supplied by overseas manufacturers; there is only a small local production sector, which still tends to concentrate on exports to the former USSR. However, Sanitas, the largest domestic pharmaceutical manufacturer, has seen large increases in sales and gained access to European markets such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia due to recent acquisitions. The benefits of EU accession, including the gradual improvement of the country's overall wealth, should in time help boost the domestic market.

The Lithuanian pharmaceutical industry has failed to attract the interest of foreign manufacturers, unlike other new EU member states, such as Poland or Hungary. A recent legislative change, which makes it difficult for new companies to acquire import licences, may further dissuade pharmaceutical companies from setting up in Lithuania.