|
|
Singapore Phamaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q1 2008Published by: Business Monitor International Published: Feb. 25, 2008 - 68 Pages Table of Contents
AbstractSingapore’s US$600mn pharmaceutical market is small in regional terms because of its city-sizedpopulation. But because of its well-developed economy, per capita spending is high, making it a draw toalmost all the multinationals. Accordingly, the country ranks as the fourth most attractive Asia Pacificmarket in BMI’s completely overhauled Business Environment Rankings, ahead of larger peers such asTaiwan and Malaysia.During Q307, Singapore accepted the December 2005 amendment to the WTO’s Trade Related Aspectsof Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, which allows compulsory licensing to enable theexport of cheaper versions of patented medicines to address public health problems. It is BMI’s view thatSingapore will extremely unlikely to exercise this right, given the close ties it maintains with themultinationals. Amid protests that civil liberties are being eroded, city-state Singapore introduced a National Registry ofDiseases in November 2007, with cancer being the first condition to be tracked. Despite the countryhaving a similar statistical tool for over 40 years, this one is different in that it is mandatory for healthcareinstitutions - both public and private - to contribute. While BMI is a strong supporter of patient rights,we believe that disease registries are a good thing, as more effective interventions can be swiftlymobilised. This will eventually result in reduced costs. However, we caution that security must be of thehighest order, as information in the wrong hands - such as employers or insurance companies - could beextremely damaging to the individual. Singapore is so bereft of pharmacists that it is considering recruiting professionals from abroad. There arejust 0.3 practising pharmacists per 1,000 people, which compares unfavourably with other developedstates (ranging from 1.2 in France to 0.4 in Denmark). To allow this, the Pharmacist Registration Act wasamended during September 2007 for the first time in 20 years to allow the conditional and temporaryregistration of foreign-trained pharmacists. Anticipating India’s regional pre-eminence, Singapore agreed in October 2007 to co-operate with thecountry in the area clinical trial and movement of healthcare professionals. India will offer outsourcing,consulting services and engineering expertise, while Singapore will benefit from cost differentials ofaround 30-40%. Get Full Details About This Report >> |
|
|||
|
About MarketResearch.com
|
||||