Malaysian Pharma Market Set to Reach $3.6 billion by 2020

The pharmaceutical market in Malaysia in set to grow from $2.3 billion in 2015 to $3.6 billion by 2020, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.   The company’s latest report states that the main drivers of this growth include medical tourism, a lack of strict price regulation, a rising disease burden, and a lack of dependence on imported branded products. The prevalence of non-communicable disease is increasing due to changes to food and lifestyle habits, and a growing elderly population, which accounted for 7% of the population in 2015.   Malaysian government initiatives aimed at increasing investment in the pharmaceutical industry, such as Entry Point Projects and National Key Economic Areas, have so far been successful, states the report.    The government is also actively trying to attract medical tourists, announcing in 2015 that it would provide significant tax exemptions on the development of health infrastructure.    In terms of domestic pharmaceutical companies, most focus on generic drugs, spending very little on R&D activities and therefore restricting the scope of domestic companies to establish themselves either within Malaysia or through exports. Currently, the five leading pharmaceutical companies are Pharmaniaga Berhad, Chemical Company of Malaysia Berhad (CCM), Yung Shin Pharmaceutical, Hovid, and Kotra Pharma.   See the report here.