Korean drugmakers should aggressively seek to tap into Thailand’s pharmaceutical market worth more than 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion), a group of pharmaceutical companies here said.

According to the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association (KPBMA), the Thai drug market grew 7.7 percent to $5 billion in 2017 from a year earlier.
Although there are more than 500 pharmaceutical companies in Thailand, the nation’s 90 percent of medicines rely on imports of drug ingredients.

With Thailand being pushed out of competition with Vietnam, multinational drug companies are reducing the size of factories in Thailand.

The Thai government is urgently finding ways to attract foreign pharmaceuticals to nurture the local sector, which is still incompetent.

The Thai authorities recently selected the healthcare sector as one of the 10 industries to grow and decided to abolish the exclusive drug supply privileges previously granted to state-owned companies. The government aims to attract foreign firms and enhance the competitiveness of the local drug sector.

Such a situation will be an excellent opportunity for Korean pharmaceuticals seeking to expand in the global market, the KPBMA said.

As the growth of the local industry has limitations, the only way to increase sales is to enter the global market, the association said, emphasizing that the Thai market was attractive enough.

The KPBMA and the Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences will hold a “Korea-Thailand Pharmaceutical Partnership Forum” at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Center (BITEC) on Sept. 12.

Participants will listen to explanations about the Thai government’s support for the pharmaceutical partnership between Korea and Thailand, the Korean government’s support for Korean firms doing business overseas, and the introduction of Korean pharma and biopharmaceutical industries, cosmetics, and functional foods.

Korean firms such as Kolon Life Science, Chong Kun Dang, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, Bio Solutions, Kainos Medicine, and Tego Science will attend the forum.

“The most effective mediator between Southeast Asian countries seeking to foster their pharmaceutical industry and Korean pharmaceutical companies seeking to expand into overseas markets is incrementally modified drugs,” said an official at the KPBMA. “Korean firms’ visit to Thailand will be an opportunity to discuss concrete measures to global market entry, such as technology partnership, transfer of know-how, and local investment.”

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