Malaysian pharma market forecast to see impressive growth

New research indicates that the pharmaceutical market in Malaysia in set to grow from $2.3 billion in 2015 to $3.6 billion by 2020, registering a compound annual growth rate of 9.5%.

According to research and consulting firm GlobalData’s latest report, the main drivers of this substantial 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.

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. Under these initiatives, the government will provide dedicated drug manufacturing facilities for large-volume production of generic drugs, raise entry requirements for imported generic drugs, enhance R&D capabilities to develop novel and higher value-added products, and ensure that novel and patented drugs are manufactured locally to qualify for government procurement.