Pharmaceutical industry in the Asia-Pacific region - statistics & facts
From global industry leaders to emerging markets developing at record paces, the Asia-Pacific region boasts one of the most dynamic pharmaceutical landscapes in the world. Several countries in APAC are among the fastest-aging in the world, a looming societal challenge which accelerates investments and research efforts for future-facing medical solutions in the region.
While still being considered an emerging pharma market, the Chinese pharma industry is growing at a record pace. This growth is attributable to investments in research and development as well as mergers and acquisitions, both of which can be expected to gradually shift the market from high-speed manufacturing to becoming a more strategic and quality-focused hub.
India is one of the biggest suppliers of generics and vaccines worldwide, with the United States, United Kingdom, and Brazil being the country's major export destinations. Due to its large and diverse population and concomitantly diverse disease profiles, India is also becoming one of the biggest hubs for clinical trials in Asia, following China and Japan.
One example of the dynamic developments in Southeast Asia is Singapore's pharmaceutical industry, which is a renowned hub for biomedical science (BMS) and medical technology. The country attracts huge foreign investments for pharma products and serves as an R&D and manufacturing base for international market leaders such as Pfizer, Novartis, and AbbVie.
An established global player and a market on the rise
For many years, the long-established Japanese pharmaceutical industry has been Asia-Pacific's main representative on the international market, having been among the global leaders in pharma revenue alongside North America and Europe for the past decade. However, long approval processes and biannual price reductions have slowed down growth in the Japanese pharma industry in recent years. The increasing share of generic drugs puts further downward pressure on prices for patented drugs.While still being considered an emerging pharma market, the Chinese pharma industry is growing at a record pace. This growth is attributable to investments in research and development as well as mergers and acquisitions, both of which can be expected to gradually shift the market from high-speed manufacturing to becoming a more strategic and quality-focused hub.
South and Southeast Asia's pharmerging markets
Often referred to by the umbrella term pharmerging and grouped together with other world regions with developing pharmaceutical industries, South Asia and Southeast Asia are medical markets with plenty of growth potential, not least because of their large populations. Moreso than the established markets, it is the emerging regions that display the highest projected pharma market growth rates, exceeding those of established markets like Japan.India is one of the biggest suppliers of generics and vaccines worldwide, with the United States, United Kingdom, and Brazil being the country's major export destinations. Due to its large and diverse population and concomitantly diverse disease profiles, India is also becoming one of the biggest hubs for clinical trials in Asia, following China and Japan.
One example of the dynamic developments in Southeast Asia is Singapore's pharmaceutical industry, which is a renowned hub for biomedical science (BMS) and medical technology. The country attracts huge foreign investments for pharma products and serves as an R&D and manufacturing base for international market leaders such as Pfizer, Novartis, and AbbVie.
