The Latest Bahrain Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report for Q308 is Out - With SWOT Analysis, Forecasts and a Detailed Market Overview

BMI's Bahrain Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report provides independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Bahrain's pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.

The Bahraini pharmaceutical market -- evenly split between the private and the public spheres -- was worth an estimated US$58.3mn in 2007, which is small by both regional and global standards. Although the market is forecast to experience GDP-beating growth, driven by a growing non-communicable disease burden and a continued reliance on imported patented drugs, it remains a marginal target for foreign drugmakers, due to its small size. Nevertheless, its value will grow to a forecast US$75.9mn by 2012, illustrating opportunities for companies which decide to invest in the country and also to take advantage of the growing integration between members of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states.

In BMI's Business Environment Rating for the 13 countries of the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, Bahrain again occupies a third place, finding itself alongside South Africa. On the positive side, Bahrain has the second-best regulatory structure in the region -- after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but -- on the negative -- the small overall size of the market remains an issue, despite the forecast rapid growth of the population, as does the fact that the launch of expensive medicines is often delayed. Nevertheless, other draws include strong investment in health awareness programmes, the expansion of the private insurance market, as expatriate workers become excluded from public coverage, and the strong demand for latest medicines for the treatment of 'civilization' diseases.

Imports have traditionally dominated the market, with the local industry being small and relatively basic. The improvement in trading regimes brought about by the 2006 signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US, and the more recently established common market of the six GCC states. Among suppliers, India is beginning to gain prominence, especially in the light of the two governments' signing of a Framework Agreement on Economic Co-operation and an increase in collaborative efforts in the area of healthcare, and the need to cut public health costs, through measures such as an increase in the use of generics.

Additionally, Indian firms in the innovative sphere are also taking advantage of the strong GCC-wide demand for latest medicines. To this end, in February 2008, India's Intas Biopharmaceuticals (IBPL) announced its intention to register itself in the GCC region, initially planning to launch three products to treat certain cancers and their side effects in the GCC. The products' penetration of the market will, of course, be greatly facilitated by the single GCC common market.

Source: marketwatch.com Contributed by: DMSMedwire Research JSG Team