|
|
Malaysia Pharmaceuticals Report Q2 2008Published by: Business Monitor International Published: Apr. 30, 2008 - 86 Pages Table of Contents
AbstractAlthough Malaysia’s pharmaceutical market is one of the fastest growing in Asia Pacific, BMI’s BusinessEnvironment Ranking table for Q208 places the country is the joint eight place, alongside India, out of the 14markets surveyed in the Asia Pacific region. Economic development, a fast-growing population andAssociation of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) harmonisation initiatives are among the main drivers offorecast market growth over the coming years, with the total market expected to top US$1.82bn in value by2012, increasing by around 11% per annum. One of the areas of rising pharmaceutical demand is anti-smokingdrugs, as the authorities highlighted the need to tackle the cost of three main smoking-related diseases borne bythe Malaysian public health services, which topped US$1bn for the year 2007.However, low per capita spending and shortcomings of the country’s intellectual property (IP) environmenthave resulted in a dynamic market for counterfeit medicines. Enforcement work is challenging, given the useof advanced technologies to avoid detection and demand for cheap medicines. Moreover, free trade agreement(FTA) negotiations with the US have recently run into difficulties over various issues, including compulsorylicensing, which will further threaten the growth of the patented drugs sector. Nevertheless, Malaysia boasts a strong local drugmaking industry, although its output mainly comprises basicgenerics. While Malaysian medicines have gained a strong reputation abroad, especially in neighbouring SouthEast Asian countries, the market will remain dependent on imports for the supply of expensive patentedmedicines. In the meantime, BMI has revised its export forecast upwards to reflect the strong growth inexports in 2007. According to the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), the valueof medicines exported from Malaysia reached MYR678mn (US$212mn), which is significantly more thanBMI’s previous estimate of US$134mn. Exports have benefited from rising demand in Asia, the modest butsustained growth in the global economy, especially in the US, and the further opening of China’s marketfollowing WTO entry, which led to a drop in import tariffs. The ongoing elimination of tariffs under the Japan-Malaysia Economic Partnership Agreement and the consequent FTA will serve to further boost trade betweenthe two countries. Consequently, the domestic industry will remain committed to increasing its presence in foreign markets.Local companies are likely to use the growing trade links with the Middle Eastern Islamic markets for theirhalal medicines. Indeed, while pharmaceutical companies have been aware of this niche for some time, theyhave only recently begun explicitly targeting this growth area. Similarly, the government is aiming to promotethe biotechnology industry in order to attract foreign investment, with the sector already showing dynamism.Most recently, US-based biopharmaceutical company Emergent BioSolutions and government-ownedNinebio (9Bio) formed a joint venture in Malaysia for the production of biodefense biologics and vaccines. Get Full Details About This Report >> |
|
|||
|
About MarketResearch.com
|
||||