Global Perspective: As health care provision expands, demand for both local and imported pharmaceutical products is rising

In recent decades, the pharmaceutical market has expanded its geographical reach. This trend appears to be here to stay; in a survey of major pharmaceutical firms conducted by global consulting firm PwC’s Strategy& team, more than half of respondents anticipated that over 30% of their global sales would originate in emerging markets by 2018.

Even in the most newly opened markets, drug companies have seen growth: forecasts for Myanmar, for instance, indicate that pharmaceuticals could quickly grow into a $1bn industry. As governments and companies continue to take note of this high-potential sector, both are pursuing development in the face of cross-cutting challenges, particularly with regard to the resources required to develop new products and the accompanying intellectual property protection concerns.

Strong Demand

As economies grow, and health care provision and insurance mechanisms expand, demand for local and imported pharmaceutical products is on the rise. Research from consulting firm McKinsey & Company highlights that emerging markets have been outspending Germany, France, Italy, the UK and Spain (the EU5) on pharmaceuticals for several years, with a total market size of $281bn compared with the EU5’s $196bn in 2014.

Read the full Global Perspective in The Report: Bahrain 2018