Kuwaiti Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Market to Witness Growth in 2014

The Kuwait Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, pharmaceutical associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Kuwait’s pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.

Kuwaits pharmaceutical expenditure stood at around KWD106mn (US$377mn) in 2008. Over the forecast period to 2014, the anaylst expects the market to grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.0% to reach KWD130mn (US$483mn) in 2014. Our long-range drug market forecast model predicts that the market should reach KWD164mn (US$608mn) in 2019, representing a 2009-2019 CAGR of 4.9%.

In the updated pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings for Q110, Kuwait is ranked equal third of the 17 markets in the Middle East and Africa. The countrys attractiveness to businesses centres on its relatively developed pharmaceutical regulatory regime and stable political and economic environment. While the drug market is small in absolute terms, per-capita pharmaceutical consumption is high in value terms and there is strong demand for innovative pharmaceuticals.

The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region will continue to attract healthcare investments in line with continuing growth. While Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will continue to dominate in terms of market value, Bahrain and the UAE will experience the highest CAGRs. Kuwait will be close behind with a CAGR of 8.5% forecast for health expenditure between 2009 and 2014.

Expatriate workers making use of private healthcare are likely to be the major drivers of health expenditure growth. Sanofi-Aventiss launch of anti-ageing drug Sculptra (injectable poly-L-lactic acid) in Kuwait in October 2009 demonstrates there is a willingness to pay for non-reimbursed medicines. Having said this, the state remains heavily involved in the purchase and provision of healthcare for the indigenous population. As a consequence, health expenditure growth will depend on government expenditure, which in turn is highly dependent on government income from oil.

The domestic pharmaceutical sector remains largely confined to import and distribution. An increasingly stable Iraq offers opportunities for Kuwaiti firms that are looking to expand regionally. Local distributor Safwan operates offices in Iraq and acts as distributor there for several multinational drugmakers. Meanwhile, Kuwaits sole domestic pharmaceutical manufacturer, Kuwait-Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries (KSP) lists Iraq as one of its export markets.