The pharmaceutical business is tilting towards Asia. The region is being hailed as ‘the pharmaceutical hub’, and most multinational and domestic companies in the region believe it is inevitable that Asia will soon be leading the pharma market, reported pharmaceutical technology.

India, China and Singapore are expected to become leaders in the pharmaceutical sector. India and China have become major suppliers of APIs, with India also exporting high volumes of pharmaceutical dosage products. South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong are also creating strong pharmaceutical bases, although these markets are mainly dominated by MNCs.

More clinical trials are also being conducted in Asia and India has taken the lead in clinical trial outsourcing. Asia is now returning to GDP levels of the 19th century when it was at its highest (12%). According to Goldman Sachs, India is expected to become the world’s third largest economy by 2050.

Many MNCs are investing and building their businesses in China and India, and it is expected that total pharmaceutical sales in China (at current levels of approximately $14 billion [€9 billion]) will double to $28 billion (€18 billion) by 2010.

In late 2006, Novartis (Switzerland) announced a $100 million (€64.2 million) investment in Shanghai for a new R&D centre. AstraZeneca (UK) also has plans to invest approximately $100 million (€64.3 million) in China by 2009 for R&D operations. Other MNCs, including Pfizer (NY, USA), Roche (France) and Bayer (Germany) are investing in existing or new facilities in China. DSM (The Netherlands) has joint venture with North China Pharma Group with more than $100 million (€64.3 million) investment. As far as domestic companies are concerned, the Chinese government is taking the necessary steps to boost their business, such as strengthening regulatory compliances.

And China is not the only one experiencing new growth; in India, sales increased by approximately 18% to $8 billion (€5.1 billion) in 2006, according to a survey by IMS Health,(1) and by 2010 the Indian clinical trials market is expected to be worth $1 billion (€642 million) from a current level of approximately $150 million (€96 million). Also by 2010, contract manufacturing is expected to rise to $1 billion (€642 million) from a current level of approximately $350 million (€225 million).

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