Prognosis looks good for region's drug makers

(OSAMA ABOUGHANIM)   

The Middle East’s pharmaceutical and biotechnology market is predicted to become one of the region’s strongest in coming years.

It’s estimated that more than 450 pharmaceutical manufacturers are present in the region, a figure that is growing dramatically year-on-year.

With the region’s market currently standing in excess of $12 billion (Dh44bn), industry analysts have indicated growth rates will continue due to a rise in public and private investment, as well as an increase in medical research in the UAE and wider region.

“There’s definitely a bigger demand for better healthcare,” Bassem Abdallah, country manager of Gulf States for Bayer Healthcare, told Emirates Business.

“The region’s population is increasing, and individuals are investing more in primary healthcare and health insurance. Despite the fact that the Middle East is a small market in comparison to other regions, it is certainly significant, and has an impact on the market as a whole.”

In response to this, IIR Middle East, the organisers of the annual Arab Health congress, are launching the first International Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Exhibition – Pabme in the region.

Designed to be a one-stop international destination where business cultures and ideas can meet, Pabme is the region’s only event formatted as a major exhibition, with a multi-disciplinary conference running alongside to address the interests of global markets.

“Pabme will showcase a wide spectrum of products and services to cater to all businesses associated with the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries,” said Simon Page, director of life sciences at IIR Middle East.

“The event will offer companies the perfect opportunity to find new business contacts and gain further recognition worldwide.”

The total value of the global pharmaceutical market currently stands at $460bn and is expected to surge to $625bn by 2009. Additionally, international research studies have indicated that, by 2020, the market will be worth a massive $1.3 trillion.

However, it should be noted that in the United States and Europe, market growth is slowing to around five per cent a year due to several factors including the declining cost of treatment in the region, as well as uncertainty over the safety of many new drugs and treatments.

In contrast, the Middle Eastern market is expected to continue growing 10 to 15 per cent a year, thanks to improvement in primary healthcare, as well as an increase in the demand for regional research.

For example, for the very first time in the region, Bayer Schering Pharma, which is part of Bayer Healthcare, recently presented findings from its Greatest International Antibiotic Trial (Giant) study, aimed at evaluating the impact of acute exacerbations – the sustained worsening of symptoms from the usual stable state – in patients with chronic bronchitis, as well as the efficacy and safety of the manufacturer’s antibiotic Avelox (moxifloxacin), used to treat the condition. What’s particularly interesting is the fact the study provided a first-hand insight on how patients in the Middle East region are treated, as 4,350 patients from the Middle East were documented in the trial. A total of 46,891 patients took part overall.

The study found the quality of life of Middle East patients suffering from the weakening disease is tremendously affected, and that Avalox could help to reduce this burden. Professor Antonio Anzueto from the University of Texas Health and Science Centre in San Antonio, Texas, US, one of the researchers involved with the study, told Emirates Business: “In the Giant study we wanted to verify if these effects can also be seen in real life. We think that the Giant results are very impressive since Middle East patients treated with moxifloxacin suffered, on average, one day less from chronic bronchitis compared to previous treatment.”

Apart from providing regional information about chronic bronchitis and its treatment, the study also compared data from different regions of the world.

Meanwhile, Dr Bassam Al Masri from the International Modern Hospital in Dubai noted that given the trend of increased smoking among young adults in the region, the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is normally the underlying condition of chronic bronchitis, is very likely to rise in the Middle East.

“It is very important that we are now documenting patients in the Middle East, because we need to show the region that disease is on the rise,” he said.

“Apart from cigarette smoking, we’re also witnessing a rise in the use of shisha, so we need to be able to combat the disease early.”

Avelox is currently the manufacturer’s seventh best-selling product in the world, making an estimated €445m (Dh2.6bn) in sales last year. This contributed to Bayer’s total sales of €14.8bn, an increase of 26.3 per cent compared to 2006 (€11.7bn). In the Middle East, Bayer made €222m last year.

Of course, the regional data obtained during Giant is also expected to have a positive impact on sales of Avelox in the region.

However, it is not only chronic bronchitis that is plaguing health in the Middle East. The rise of diabetes is also a cause for concern. According to a report by Price Waterhouse Coopers, the number of individuals worldwide with the disease in 1995 was 84 million. However, by 2025, the figure is expected to surge to 228 million, with India, the Middle East and South Asia bearing the worst of the burden.

It is figures like these that will drive more companies to carry out studies and provide scientific data based on individuals in the Middle East. And with the full launch of Dubai Biotechnology and Research Park (Dubiotech) – dubbed as the Middle East’s first and foremost science and business park dedicated to global life science – happening next year, there’s no doubt this will be occurring very soon.

In the meantime, at Pabme, industry experts from the region will have the opportunity to meet and do business with some key industry decision makers.

“This exhibition is like a shot in the arm for Middle East pharmaceutical manufacturers,” Dr BR Shetty, managing director and CEO of Neopharma in the UAE, said. “Thanks to this unique gathering, companies such as Neopharma now have their own exclusive platform to showcase, share and discuss the region’s world-class manufacturing processes.”

Log onto www.pabme.com for more information.