Favorable market conditions are driving increased growth across the Middle East and North Africa pharmaceutical market, according to a report by CPhI, which cited aging and gentrifying populations, increased healthcare spending, and a modernizing supply chain as transforming prospects in the region. CPhI, a pharmaceutical event organizer, will be holding Middle East and Africa sessions September 3-5 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Total pharmaceutical sales have reached more than $30 billion across the region, with the Middle East accounting for $20.3 billion and North Africa $10.7 billion. The increasingly gentrified populations in Sub-Saharan African countries and the development of sophisticated universal healthcare systems in the Middle East are providing growth opportunities, the event group reported. 

In particular, the finished dosage formulation sector is expanding particularly quickly in the Middle East, with a number of plants being commissioned in the last few years. In the UAE, the government also fast-tracks approval of locally manufactured drugs, which is helping to establish a new manufacturing base in the country—with the added potential for exports to the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Boosted by government policy changes, companies are building new manufacturing facilities. Domestic production accounts for approximately 45 percent of drug consumption in the Middle East, with generics in the Gulf Cooperation Council valued at $1.55 billion as recently as 2016.

Saudi Arabia remains the biggest pharma market in the region according to 2017 sales numbers at $7.5 billion, followed by Turkey ($6.9 billion), Egypt ($3.4 billion), and the UAE ($3.17 billion). The North Africa region is expected to show the fastest growth rates over the next few years with a compound annual growth rate of 7.6 percent, CPhI reported.

CPhI’s Middle East and Africa event in Abu Dhabi next month will co-locate with groups representing finished dosage formulation, contract manufacturing and service, packaging and drug delivery, and pharmaceutical machinery, technology, and equipment. It is expected to draw 4,000 suppliers and buyers..

(Source: CPhI Middle East & Africa)