The Pharmaceutical Market: Egypt (pdf/xls)

Additional Information

THE PHARMACEUTICAL MARKET: EGYPT - REVIEW

On 25th November 2011, Kamal Ahmad el-Ganzouri was appointed head of the Egyptian Salvation Government. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) held a lower house parliamentary election between 28th November 2011 and 3rd January 2012. During this third round, in excess of 14 million people were eligible to vote on the 150 seats in nine governorates. Entering this final round, the Muslim Brotherhood had registered more than 40% of the vote, with its main rival, the Al Nour party, gaining more than 20%. Final results are expected in the week commencing 9th January 2012. Elections for the less-powerful upper house of parliament, known as the Shura Council, are to begin on 29th January 2012, while presidential elections are scheduled for June 2012. As a result, the SCAF is expected to control power until a new president is elected. The EIU adds that the SCAF envisages that the presidential election will take place after the referendum on the new constitution, which would mean that Egypt would continue to be under military control for most of 2012, and perhaps part of 2013.

Providing the political situation stabilises and the economy continues to perform well, the Egyptian pharmaceutical market at retail prices is expected to rise by a double-digit CAGR in US dollar terms between 2011 and 2016. Espicom estimates that the market increased by nearly five times between 1995 and 2010. Nevertheless, per capita consumption is still low. In spite of recent production problems, production is expected to rise as the healthcare system continues its transition towards modernisation. The new pharmaceutical pricing system, if it was fully implemented, would increase the price of new branded and generic pharmaceuticals. Considering opportunities beyond BRIC pharmaceutical markets, Egypt is becoming a very attractive market for multinational pharmaceutical companies focused on emerging markets.

The Egyptian pharmaceutical industry has enjoyed a period of considerable development in recent years. There is a strong domestic production sector and, while the majority is destined for the domestic market and imports play an important role, Egypt has emerged as a leading exporter of pharmaceuticals to Arab, Asian and Eastern European markets. Public production, represented by the state-owned holding company HOLDIPHARMA, accounts for around one-tenth of sales by value and nearly two-tenths by volume. There are a number of leading local private producers, some of them involved in biotechnology, which are strengthening their capabilities; Minapharm Pharmaceuticals, for example, acquired 95.0% of the share capital of the German ProBioGen in June 2010. Some leading multinational producers also manufacture in Egypt, including AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Hikma, Novartis and Sanofi, in spite of weak IPR standards, particularly in terms of data exclusivity. In 2011, GlaxoSmithKline announced investments of LE500.0 million (US$82.0 million) in Egypt over a five-year period.

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HEALTHCARE STATISTICS

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