Prolific profits
THE increase of debilitating disorders, like asthma, may have sent shock waves amongst the human population worldwide, but has resulted in a windfall for the pharmaceutical industries the world over. The year past - 1995 - saw drug sales soaring to record levels: markets in the top nine countries including us, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium posted a growth of eight per cent as compared to' five per cent in 1994 and one per cent in 1993. Records released by ims International, a drugs industry market research organisation, recently put the us drug market as the fastest growing, followed by the UK and Japan. Giving the industry a boost were drugs like Prozac, an anti-depressant, manufactured by Eli Lilly of the us, and Zantac, an ulcer drug manufactured by UK's Glaxo Wellcome.