Singapore, July 16, 2010: Malayisan drugmaker, Pharmaniaga, expects the outlook for the Malaysian pharma industry to improve in 2010. This view is in accordance with the Pharmaceutical Expenditure Forecast Model by Business Monitor International (BMI), which shows that medicine sales in the South East Asian country increased by just 3.4 percent in 2009 - well below the compound annual growth (CAGR) of 6.9 percent between 2004 and 2008.

However, driven by an expanding economy and aging population, the market is expected to expand by 9.46 percent in 2010 and 7.96 percent between 2009 and 2014. Growth will be led by the OTC and generics markets, which are both growing rapidly from relatively low bases.

Indeed, generics continue to be poorly promoted in Malaysia, with branded drugs generally viewed as superior in quality. The generics market was accordingly worth just $316 mn (MYR 1.11 bn) in 2009. The relatively small size of the market in Malaysia gives it a greater potential for growth in the coming years. After the OTC market, the generics market will post the strongest growth over the next nine years. The forecast shows a local currency CAGR of 10.34 percent between 2009 and 2014, increasing to 10.87 percent between 2009 and 2019.

Meanwhile, BMI noted in its report that the economic indicators for Malaysia are beginning to look more positive, which should help sustain growth in the pharma sector.