DOHA: Qatar’s pharmaceutical market is likely to remain highly import-dependent, providing significant opportunities for multinational branded drug makers through the trade route.
Despite recent surge in activity, Qatar’s domestic manufacturing segment sees only a restricted progress in the future. The high share of imported and branded products has inflated healthcare spending of the Qatari government, the main buyer of medicines, and the consumers.
This has prompted the country’s Supreme Council of Health (SCH) to take several measures such as eliminating controls on pricing of pharmaceuticals and abolishing monopoly of a few companies on drug imports, a latest GCC pharmaceutical industry Outlook released by Alpen Capital noted.
Although multinational pharmaceutical companies have been successful in the Qatari market due to high brand consciousness of the people for both prescription and OTC (over-the-counter) medicines, the small market size has discouraged manufactures from setting up plants within the country. Instead, exporting from facilities in the Mena and Asian countries is seen as a preferable route.
According to Alpen Capital, Qatar imported $280.2m worth of pharmaceutical products in 2010, translating into an annual average of 16.3 percent from 2008. Although pharmaceutical exports have multiplied 10 times between 2008 and 2011, the export figure is negligible in comparison to the imports.
Qatar Pharma, which began production in 2009, is presumably the only locally-manufacturing pharmaceutical company which operates at a reasonable scale. However, domestic drug production is gradually gaining momentum in the country.
The report said Qatari government favours increasing local production and pharmaceutical prices in the country. To fuel growth of generic drugs in the market, SCH stipulates all doctors to prescribe medicines only by their generic names, thus leaving the final choice of generic or branded drugs to the patients. However, it remains to be seen whether generic drugs are able to penetrate an affluent and brand conscious consumer base.
The report expects Qatari pharmaceutical industry will benefit from the forthcoming implementation of the national health insurance programme, which envisions covering all the residents and visitors in the country under the scheme.
Further, potential singing of a free trade agreement between the GCC and India, thus paving the way for cheaper imports of generics, can alter structure of the pharmaceutical industry in the country.
“The GCC pharmaceutical industry is expected to experience sustainable growth in the medium to long term. Increased domestic production, foreign investments, and consumption of generics are likely to support the market’s evolution”, said Sameena Ahmad, Managing Director at Alpen Capital.
Sales of OTC
products grow
The growing incidence of lifestyle-related chronic diseases has boosted demand for high-value prescription medication in Qatar. The country’s population is also becoming increasingly aware about personal healthcare. This has boosted sales of OTC products such as analgesics, cold and flu medication, digestives, pseudo-pharmaceuticals, and topical creams.
However, regulations on advertising and retail sales through licensed pharmacies only have partially stunted the growth of OTC segment. Under Qatari laws, some typically OTC drugs are categorized as prescription medicines, while some drugs generally available under prescription only are dispensed OTC.
The Peninsula
