Report: Asia to Become Largest Pharmaceutical Market

As the global pharmaceutical market is shifting to Asia, companies are advised to establish a presence there to begin tackling the region’s obstacles and keep up with the changing tide, according to a recently released PricewaterhouseCoopers report.

The report found that competition among Asian countries to attract international pharmaceutical players is intensifying as governments offer various incentives. However, despite progress in strengthening government regulation and intellectual property (IP) protections in Asia, such risks continue to be a concern.

“The pendulum for the pharmaceutical industry is shifting from the West to the East,” Dan Bartholomew, senior managing director of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Practice, said. “This means that if U.S.-based companies want to have part of that market, they are going to need to be present in the region and learn to navigate the risks.”

The report was based on a survey of 185 senior pharmaceutical executives from 92 domestic Asian companies, and 93 multinational companies with operations in nine different countries: China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.