Owing to the huge revenue generation potential they hold, South East Asia markets hold promising prospects. Especially the rise in life style disorders will help Indian generic companies to garner more business opportunities. The region is represented by 11 countries spanning from Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“There is a tremendous scope for growth. There are several opportunities in South East Asia which fit into our export strategy. The new regulations of doing business in the region, encouraging environment and market interest have been extremely gratifying,” said Archana Dubey Mitra, vice president, exports, Bal Pharma.
Anglo French Drugs & Industries too has a presence in South East Asia and markets its products to Myanmar.
According to Gurudatta GG, chief executive officer, Estima Pharma Solutions, regulated regions like the US and EU will now look at these markets for contract manufacturing and source much of their drugs. For Indian pharma companies, this region is going to be tough. The entire South East Asian region do not want to encourage Indian companies to market their products. So product registrations are hard to come-by. Therefore existing registrations for Indian companies will be good. If there are some unique molecules, then only they will be able to make headway in this region.
For instance, the situation in Vietnam is that there is no room for me-too products. The country is quite competitive in manufacturing and has a presence of 400 local companies here. Other countries which are showing their prowess in the region are Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Though countries like Indonesia and Malaysia are self -sufficient, some imports are possible and may woo Indian pharma companies ,if they want to set up manufacturing bases here, he added.
Though there are many Indian companies still trading in the region, they now face stiff competition from local companies in the south east Asian region on cost and quality. This places the Indian pharma exporter at a disadvantage. Since contract manufacturing is coming up in a big way in Vietnam, it is worth taking a chance for any Indian company which wants to set up a base here. With the waning interest of the US and EU on imports from India, it will make considerable business sense to focus on the South East Asian region, he said.
The renewed aggression to enable growth for Indian pharma in South East Asia has also led Estima Pharma which is a leading consultancy, to set up a base in Vietnam. We will take the total responsibility in terms of technical infrastructure and identifying the related skilled workforce too, if companies invest, said Gurudatta.
The promising prospects for pharma industry has seen the evolution of venture capitalists and private equity in the region. There is no dearth of manpower but they need to be honed with adequate skilling. The best part of the region is the globally regulated production facilities. Recently Estima also successfully enabled a MHRA audit for a facility in Vietnam, said Gurudatta.
Going by the developments in the pharma sector in the South East region, there are possibilities of high quality Indian workforce to be employed in many of these facilities.
The imminent trends in the South East Asian region is the opportunity for contract manufacturing and demand for life style disorder drugs along with medicines for chronic conditions and infectious diseases. With these growth possibilities, come is a slew of challenges said Gurudatta particularly in the case of small Indian companies where quality is an issue .
“This has put many established large pharma companies from India in a spot. The region is known to paint the poor quality standards with the same brush for all companies. Pharmexcil has been putting its efforts to erase this negative image,” said the Estima chief.
Now as an Indian pharma consultant which is adept in the South East Asian region, we can help to offset the crisis. More so when companies particularly in Vietnam are looking for an investment from India. So any such company looking for collaboration in manufacture and marketing should not overlook Vietnam, said Gurudatta.
The big advantage for Indian companies to invest in South East Asia particularly Vietnam would be the lower costs in that country. The cost difference amounts to 40 per cent which is because of low labour cost. This along with a far lower cost of living compared to India are beneficial for companies to cash in on the financial benefits by opting for both organic as well as inorganic growth in South East Asian region, observed Gurudatta.
The low cost of manufacture will lead to competitive pricing for high quality drugs which has a ready acceptance in the global market. This has led companies in the US ad EU to look over India and opt for South East Asian region for outsourcing and set up facilities. The most suitable location for contract manufacture here are Vietnam and Thailand, noted Gurudatta .
In the case of regulatory approvals, currently the region has its drug enforcement wing which audits for WHO-GMP compliance. The region is stringent on audits and is expected to enter Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention and Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S) this year.
Stelis Biopharma , part of Strides-Shasun, has partnered with Malaysian Bio-XCell Sdn. Bhd, an industrial biotech technology park and ecosystem, to set up an advanced bio-therapeutic manufacturing facility using ‘next-generation’ manufacturing and bio-process technologies which will revolutionize the way bio-molecules are manufactured. The plant is designed to have the capability to produce simple and complex bio-therapeutics using microbial and mammalian systems. It will also have fill-finish capability in a variety of formats.
It is not merely pharmaceuticals for humans which is thriving in the region, but the animal vaccine market in South East Asia is growing rapidly because of the poultry and cattle population. The Ahmedabad-based Hester is currently exporting its products to eight countries and product registration activities are on in over 20 countries. Among South East Asian countries, the company currently exports to Nepal, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia and is exploring opportunities to enter Taiwan and South
“The demand for animal vaccines is mainly met by imports in this region. We see ourselves to be a major supplier of animal vaccines and other health products. Our geographical location of being in India with an ability to manufacture international standard products , gives us a strategic advantage in this market. The company has its South East Asia regional office in Chi Minh City, Vietnam, which looks after the sales and technical services for the region,” said Rajiv Gandhi, CEO & MD, Hester Biosciences Ltd.