Pharmaceutical industry in the South Asia and Africa is at an inflection point. These countries having a higher economically backward population with a growing disease burden provide huge opportunities for the pharma companies in the region as well as for the western majors.

South Asia countries include India Afghanistan Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. Though most of these countries have a presence of pharmaceutical industries, India is way ahead in the areas of pharma research, manufacture and marketing.

The Asian Pharmaceutical Industry report 2012 by Tectura Lifesciences, states that given its traditional resourcefulness and determination, it is beyond doubt that Asia is a key driving force of the current global pharmaceutical industry. In recent years, healthcare demands among the region’s populations have increased and its low operating costs continue to attract pharmaceutical companies.

The region is emerging as a powerhouse of pharmaceutical Research & Development (R&D) facilitated by the availability of a vast patient population, quality data, lower costs and skilled manpower.

The Asia-Pacific is the third largest pharmaceutical market in the world after North America and Europe, with many leading Asian pharmaceutical companies having been successful due to their ability to retain their cost advantage. While emerging markets such as India, the leaders in the emerging Asian pharmaceutical industries, are enjoying a situation in which foreign pharmaceutical companies want to invest in and outsource to cut costs and tap the availability of skilled professionals, said the report.

India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka show strong growth and are moving towards a trend of higher quality requirements. There are new tougher Good Manufacturing Processes (GMP) standards for medical products to meet international standards and requirements.

Indian pharma companies are looking to increasing their R&D budgets and capabilities particularly new drug formulation for quality assurance and compliance However, the pharmaceutical trends and developments vary from one market to another . Despite the negative impact of the global recession, there is demand for medicines and medical devices. Therefore pharma, medical equipment manufacturers and healthcare providers are looking for a platform to expand.

With promising revenue generation potential, the South Asia markets and Africa cannot be ignored, say pharma companies like Aravind Remedies, Dr. Reddy, Bal Pharma, Elder Pharma, Glenmark, Micro Labs, Biocon Torrent, Cipla, Zydus Cadila, Aurbindo Phamra, and RL Fine Chemicals.

The market outlook of South Asia and Africa indicate higher consumption of both patented and generics medicines

According to the World Bank report, the economic growth in South Asia will be modest in 2013-14. At such a pace, the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 cannot not be attained. Governments must work harder on reforms to raise growth in a region where most of the world's poor live.

Under the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) , there are efforts to create modern approaches in industrial cluster development; multi-modal transport connectivity; urban and industrial clusters; industrial zones, employment generation and skills development; and investments in last-mile infrastructure to boost manufacturing, services and trade.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and UNCTAD efforts to share subregional experience and global best practice in establishing and implementing national trade facilitation committees/bodies (NTFCs) have been initiated.

 Further, ADB and SAARC have also identified some of the major obstacles to integration, and work out measures to reduce trade and investment barriers.

As SASEC builds the multi-modal transport networks and logistics hubs that will move people, goods, and vehicles more efficiently around the region, border-crossing points must also function faster and at least cost, to facilitate trade. Without effective trade facilitation, the full potential of multi-modal transport networks will never be realized.

In 2010, intra-regional trade in South Asia could make up only 4.3 per cent of the region’s total trade. Barriers to trade include lengthy administrative procedures, unnecessary documentation requirements, lack of automation and streamlining of customs and security procedures, lack of harmonization of trade regulations, limited transit arrangements and weak cooperation levels between governments to create efficient and integrated border management arrangements, including single-window systems. Intra-regional trade in South Asia could rise to 60 per cent and the region’s trade to the rest of the world could increase by 30 per cent if trade facilitation systems are developed to meet international standards.

A sector development plan for SASEC member countries includes policy, regulatory, and institutional reforms for customs modernization consistent with international best practices. It calls for upgrading infrastructure at selected border crossings crucial to intra-regional trade in South Asia.

According to Karnataka Drugs and Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (KDPMA), though South Asia cannot be ignored , there is a slowdown driven by falling economic competitiveness. However as the companies in the region are scouting for collaborations, there is an opportunity here.

 According to Anjan K Roy, managing director, RL Fine Chem, the government of India’s lackadaisical attitude in supporting the pharma industry to set up the required infrastructure is driving many companies to set base in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. These countries are offering sops for drug manufacturers to invest.

Chiming in Gurudatta GG, chief executive officer, Estima Pharma Solutions, said that one could not overlook the inherent drug requirements needs in the region.

In 2012, Strand Life Sciences and Trovagene, Inc. entered into a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to license and validate the latter’s Human Papillomavirus (HPV) urine test and High Risk HPV DNA assay for clinical diagnostic and carrier screening use in India and South Asian countries.

For GE Healthcare South Asia is mandated a key growth driver. The company is developing affordable, efficient, healthcare technologies to save life in maternal-child health, cardiology, cancer diagnostics among others.

According to Terri Bresenham, president & CEO, GE Healthcare , when it comes to accurate cancer and cardiology diagnosis and treatment monitoring, patients in developing countries such as India, South Asia would benefit from advanced imaging technology. However, clinical PET/CT practice remains limited in many countries due to lack of equipment, experts and funding. New and sophisticated technologies usually require travel to specialized learning centres. With minimal experiences using advanced imaging modalities in the developing world, there is a strong need not just for equipment, but for qualified specialists.

Indian pharma's African Safari
From incentives to invest and significant opportunities to market generics, branded formulations, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APis), excipients and intermediates make Africa a sizable market with promising growth opportunities for India. Although the regulatory framework in the region is complicated ,yet it is straight forward stated pharma companies.

India and Africa share a common platform on many issues of importance. The foundation of cooperation in science and technology was laid during the India-Africa Forum Summit held in New Delhi in 2008 where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced substantive commitments of India to engage with African nations during the second summit in Addis Ababa in 2011.

Initiatives in the New Millennium include trade engagements with Africa which focuses on pharmaceuticals and Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Further, there have been several initiatives for India to play a vital role to strengthen the trade relations with Africa.

Some of the major African trade agreements which have helped to spur growth include the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC), Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa (COMESA), Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS), Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern African States (PTA), Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), West African Trade Organization (WATO), according to the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru.

The Government of India had pitched for greater cooperation between Asian and African countries to address short and long term challenges in this regard under the South Africa-India Investment and Trade Initiative (ITI), African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) countries, Least Developed Countries' (LDC), India-Africa Business Council and 'India-Africa Trade Ministers Dialogue'.

India-Africa is trade projected to touch $90 billion by 2015 from the current level of $60 billion, as per the targets set by India's Ministry of commerce and industry and representatives of the African states.

Specifically to related to pharmaceutical the total quantum of trade constitutes US$ 900 million portion of this. The exports of India are mainly to Kenya, Ghana, Botswana, Nigeria and Ethiopia, according to Pharmexcil

India is looking at trade cooperation agreements between India and African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) countries, said, Union minister of commerce, industry and textiles, Anand Sharma.

Indo- African agreements
The 54-nation African continent is now poised to expand their cooperation in frontier areas of research, capacity building and knowledge industries which covers pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

Pan-African institutions are being set up by the Indian government under the umbrella of the 'India-Africa Forum Summit', for capacity building and human resource development across many areas.

Both India and Africa are reiterating their commitment towards the expeditious completion of the Least Developed Countries' (LDC) issues in the Doha Development Agenda, and agreed that by concluding the Doha Round of negotiations with development at its core, the multilateral trading system envisaged by the WTO would be strengthened.

The India-Africa Business Council are also exploring mutual cooperation in some of the core sectors of manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and, information technology.

The 'India-Africa Trade Ministers Dialogue' is an annual event to enhance the economic and commercial relations between the two countries and also identify and address issues which hinder growth of economic partnership.

There exists an enormous potential for cooperation in science and technology between India and Africa, given the fact that both are emerging economies, share common problems and have to meet the aspirations of our people," said Jean Pierre O. Ezin, Commissioner, Human Resources, Science and Technology, at the African Union Commission.

There is need to further strengthen ties between India and Africa in sectors of research and development, human resource development and exchange of technical know-how, added the Commissioner, Human Resources, Science and Technology, at the African Union Commission.

Among the key areas, the two sides agreed to work on are all people-related sectors to provide the over two billion population living in India and Africa better living conditions, quality food and water, affordable healthcare and meeting energy needs of two fast-growing economies.

Indian pharma in Africa
With diseases from anaemia, malnutrition to infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, and life style disorders like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, kidney failures, drug addiction, cancer and paralysis, the growth of the pharma sector is boosted by the rising prevalence of ill health on the one hand and growing awareness on preventive healthcare on the other. Therefore the market for drugs spans from antibiotics to ophthalmology, nephrology, oncology, psychiatry, neurology.

 Africa is a potential base for exports for Indian pharma, said members from Indian Drug Manufacturers Association and the Indian Pharmaceutical Association and Karnataka Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers Association.

According to Peeyush Jain, Deputy Managing Director, Venus Remedies Limited, African continent offers good business to the foreign pharma players as the continent carries 25 per cent of the world diseases and is importing 70 per cent of the drugs from overseas. The US$ 2.5 billion pharmaceutical market of South Africa has alone recorded a growth rate of eight per cent in the fiscal year 2011 and is expected to grow to US$3 billion by the end of 2012.

Recent trends
The largest pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in located in East Africa. This is where Kenya pharma and healthcare market presents a significant revenue generation opportunity. The region of East Africa is also a free pharmaceutical pricing environment with no imports tariffs. There is a huge reliance on imported raw materials like APIs, excipients, and intermediates.

“The western part of North Africa is very price competitive and is expected to become more competitive in the coming future. Therefore, it becomes utmost essential for us to introduce and promote our products with due diligence and strategically to gain the fair share of the various African markets. Our R&D products especially Sulbactomax has big potential as one of the big consumables for the treatment of the Antimicrobial Resistance, which is posing a great threat to the existence of mankind. AMR products have big potential keeping in mind the growing population,” said the Deputy Managing Director, Venus Remedies.