2009-03-13 09:37:02 -
Singapore Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q1 2009 - a new market research report on http://www.companiesandmarkets.com
www.companiesandmarkets.com/Summary-Market-Report/Singapore-Phar ..
In report’s Business Environment Rankings (BER) matrix for Q109, Singapore retained its respectable fourth position, behind only the three most developed pharmaceutical markets in the region, namely Japan, Australia and South Korea. Despite its limited growth potential, due to its small size, Singapore remains considered as an above-average proposition for multinational pharmaceutical companies operating in 15 key markets within the Asia-Pacific region. Main drivers of future growth include high disposable incomes, a changing demographics and epidemiological profile – with an ageing population suffering from more chronic diseases – and the government’s commitment to public health promotion and improvement.
Key attractions in terms of therapeutic areas include oncology and diabetes. In October 2008, a government official revealed that the rates of breast
cancer in Singapore increased by around 25% over the past 10 years, with Singapore´s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) recently forming an alliance with New Zealand´s Health Research Council to launch a joint research fund for the investigation of cancer and heart disease, which are the two leading causes of death in Singapore.
Diabetes is also becoming a major issue in the country, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) forecasting that the prevalence of diabetes in Singapore will rise from the current 8% to some 17% by 2030.
HIV/AIDS is also emerging as an area of concern in Singapore, with around 2,500 people currently being infected. UN AIDS reports that – in 2007 – prevalence reached 0.2%, up from 0.1% in 2001. The government is making concerted efforts to increase awareness, recently opening four more sites for anonymous HIV testing, bringing the total to seven. A survey conducted by local healthcare group Rockeby biomed in two general practitioner (GP) offices revealed that the number of tests increased by two and a half times in the July 2007-July 2008 period. Around the same time, Rockeby began offering its OraQuick Rapid HIV 1/2 antibody test to unbooked pregnant patients on the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH)’s labour wards. Depending on the success of the project, other hospitals are also expected to make use of the test, especially for the testing of high-risk pregnant mothers.
In the meantime, output levels in Singapore’s biomedical manufacturing cluster continue to fluctuate.
Figures for October 2008 show that output shrank by 30.6% in relation to the same month of 2007, with the reduction mostly due to the different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in the pharmaceutical segment. In the previous month, however, output expanded by 38.2%. In the meantime, medical devices output was down in both months, due to lower demand for exports. In fact, the global economic crisis will continue to weigh down on Singapore’s exports, with the report estimating that GDP growth fell to 3.9% in 2008, before looser conditions allow for a moderate recovery in 2009.
