Philippines Pharma: All set for continuous growth

Though the market stood at $4.3 billion in 2013, several recent and incoming changes could enable the sector to reach approximately $8 billion by 2020 (Oxford Business Group). The increase is linked to various factors, including the government’s intervention in price control, growing acceptance of generic drug variants, increasing population and growth in the annual family expenditure for drugs and medicines.

The Philippines is the 11^th most attractive pharmaceutical market in the Asia-Pacific region and the third-largest pharmaceutical market in ASEAN, after Indonesia and Thailand. The country’s pharmaceutical industry is projected to grow by 4.5 per cent annually over the next five years reaching P164 billion in 2018 from P146 billion in 2014 representing the value output or production of industry, including research based pharmaceutical and generic companies, according to IMS Consulting for the Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP). The Filipino pharmaceuticals is one of the fastest growing industries in the country and has grown year to year. Of the world’s Top 20 pharmaceutical companies, over 14 have manufacturing facilities in the Philippines. Business registration in the pharmaceutical industry in the Philippines is a growing and expanding financial opportunity too. The pharmaceutical manufacturing sector ranks is listed in the top 22 per cent of the 240 sectors in the Philippines. 

"The Philippines is growing in so many ways; with one of the youngest populations in Asia, rapidly increasing income and the ‘middle class’, foreign investment and business investment in outsourcing and technology operations, and a large amount of overseas Filipino workers paying contributing large amounts to GDP from across the globe. The shift has been made from infectious disease to non-communicable disease; with diet, alcohol and low exercise causing heart disease and other conditions to grow rapidly.  Healthcare products and medicines are in demand in the Philippines, but the cost and availability in an out-of-pocket market means many products are out of geographical and financial reach for many", says Dr Edward Booty, CEO, Allied World Healthcare, the Philippines.

The Philippines has a higher utilization rate of lower-cost generics than other Asia-Pacific countries with comparable GDPs. Generic medicine prescriptions by physicians has also increased by 7 percentage points since 2011 (from 66 per cent in June 2011 to 73 per cent in June 2014) enhancing patient access to medicines.

The government’s bulk procurement of pharmaceutical products has also helped bring down prices of medicines to Filipino patients.

Register as Visitor to CPhI China 2019!