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Research and Markets: The Outlook for Pharmaceuticals in Central Asia - Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Exports Are Expected To Increase by 20%-25% by the End Of 2008

The Outlook for Pharmaceutical Markets in Asia is a unique collection of management reports from Espicom Business Intelligence. Each report provides individual and highly-detailed analysis of each market, looking at the key regulatory, political, economic and corporate developments in the wider context of market structure, service and access. The reports are available individually, or as a discounted collection, and prices include 4 completely updated reports sent quarterly, plus comprehensive report sent annually. There are over 60 markets covered in the worldwide series.

Executive Summary

4 Key Markets Covered! Bangladesh China India Pakistan

Highlights from the region

INDIA India is a country of extremes. The vast majority of the population is both rural and poor, although urban poverty is also a problem. Modern healthcare technology and western style pharmaceuticals are not even an issue for millions of people. On a national level, the Indian health system is ill-equipped to cope with the rising number of elderly and the changing disease patterns, with an average of just 0.7 hospital beds and 0.6 physicians per thousand population. India faces the continuing challenge of fighting infectious diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and leprosy alongside increases in lifestyle related problems faced by the developed world, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

India has more US FDA approved laboratories than any other country outside the USA. A number of US companies already source pharmaceutical raw materials from India. In comparison with China, the wide use of English in commerce is mooted as an advantage to US companies, along with India's tradition as an exporting nation. India should prove to be a useful regional production base. Partnering an Indian company may also provide a good route to commercialisation in targeted markets such as Brazil or Russia, where Indian companies have an established presence. In addition, India has a large and varied patient base along with the necessary chemical and analytical skills at a comparatively low cost to make it an attractive base for clinical trials. R&D alliances are already being forged between multinationals and domestic companies.

CHINA Growing at a rate of around 8.5% per annum, China undoubtedly has one of the fastest expanding pharmaceutical markets in the world. The country has the largest population, officially estimated at over 1.3 billion in 2005, and one of the world's biggest economies, with GDP estimated at US$4.1 trillion in 2008. That said, the country is by no means an easy market to penetrate. Its sheer size means per capita incomes are very low. The opening of the Chinese market has seen the gap divide between rich and poor grow since the 1980s, and this is evident in the healthcare system in China; with minimal funding from the government, healthcare establishments rely on fees and the sale of medicines to survive. It comes to no surprise then, that the majority of China's advanced facilities and best trained staff are to be found in the larger, more affluent cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin. The Chinese pharmaceutical industry tends to focus on the manufacture of cheap generics and copycat drugs and counterfeiting remains a problem. Imports of pharmaceuticals, particularly that of retail medicines, have been growing strongly in recently years, nearly doubling in the period 2002-2006, and this trend looks set to continue in the near future with strong fundamentals in place.

PAKISTAN The Pakistani pharmaceutical market remains beset with difficulties. Strict government control over pricing has made many drugs uneconomical, with the result that they either become available only on the black market at inflated prices, or disappear completely. In this environment, manufacturers, both local and foreign-owned, have proved unable to generate the profits needed for capital investment. This is not helped by a regulatory system best described as rudimentary. There is virtually no public drug reimbursement or IP protection; patent law was officially tightened in December 2000, although the effectiveness of this has been questioned. In 2002, further changes were made, making Pakistan's IP laws even weaker. Drug prices are officially controlled, although the government lacks the capacity to enforce its policies in this area. Some price rises have been allowed since 2000, but the current government shows little sign of enacting any serious reform of the pharmaceutical sector, preferring to allege profiteering on the part of the pharmaceutical industry.

BANGLADESH Given the country's lack of spending power, the pharmaceutical market, at US$682 million, remains tiny in comparison with the size of the population. Pharmaceutical spending is amongst the lowest in the world in per capita terms. Steadily improving economic performance, combined with a general determination to boost the quality of healthcare, should lead to steady, if unspectacular, market growth, although the nation is currently in the grips of political turmoil. A military-backed interim government, in power since October 2006 has been forced to declare a state of emergency and in April 2007, two prominent political figures and former leaders were exiled. Elections are expected to take place by the end of 2008, in the meantime the army is considering initiating martial law.

An increase in investment in Bangladesh by multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers is anticipated to stimulate the sector. The revised National Drug Policy was introduced in 2005 with the hope of attracting foreign multinational investment and revitalising the health sector in the long term. In addition the continually improving performance of Beximco, the leading domestic manufacturer, offers encouraging signs for the future. In 2005 the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and hopes to move into the lucrative Western markets. Bangladesh pharmaceutical exports are expected to increase by 20%-25% by the end of 2008. The market is dominated by cheap, locally produced generic drugs used for the treatment or prevention of basic illnesses and conditions.

Key Topics Covered:

• FOR EVERY MARKET, SENT QUARTERLY
• MARKET OUTLOOK
• FOR EVERY MARKET, SENT ANNUALLY
• BACKGROUND DATA
• HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
• ACCESSING THE PHARMA MARKET
• CONTACT DETAILS

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/06d116/the_outlook_for_ph

Source: Espicom Business Intelligence Ltd

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