MENA firms eye $7 billion South Africa pharma market

• Wider sub-Saharan market worth $45 billion within two years
• Saudi tops ME&A pharma market value at $9.1 billion

The rapid growth of South Africa’s pharmaceutical market is set to continue according to participants in the first Advisory Board meeting for the inaugural CPhI Middle East & Africa, which takes place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) on 3-5 September 2018.

South Africa’s pharmaceutical market, which will be worth $7 billion by 2020, is the largest in sub-Saharan Africa, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) 0f 7.4% since 2014 and is set to continue its trajectory following a government commitment to spend $3 billion on national health programmes alone in its 2018 budget.

Underpinned by the country’s National Department of Health Performance Plan, South Africa is working to achieve a number of landmark targets by 2030. These include raising life expectancy from 57 years currently, to 70 years; improving TB prevention and cure; reducing maternal, infant and child mortality; reducing the prevalence of non-communicable diseases; and health system reform.

Highlighting the business opportunities, major multinationals already operate and manufacture in South Africa and the government is actively courting more through tax exemptions, reduced land prices, and other incentives. Furthermore, the ongoing implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI), is due to be complete by 2025.

Claudia Palme, CPhI Advisory Board Member and Managing Director, of management consultancy, 55east said: “In general terms, growth is measured by percentage each year, and in that there is no other place with growth that matches Sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa) has developed rapidly over the last two decades and population growth has soared.

“Any pharmaceutical firm a taking sustainable, responsible and practical approach to the South African market can enjoy this massive growth dynamic. The time to move into this high growth market is now in order to establish and position to reap the benefits, in absolute value terms, in five to ten years’ time,” she added.

Palme is joined on the CPhI Advisory Board by Manel Chikh, Board Member and Co-Founder and CEO of Zaphyr Pharmaceuticals; AbdelFattah Irsheid, Area Manager Middle East, Laboratorios Ordesa; Firas Nabulsi, Business Development Director – MENA, Aspen Healthcare; Mustafa Rasheed, Head of Professional Services, Client Education, Clarivate Analytics; and Jerome Carle, General Manager, Julphar.

Across the wider Sub-Saharan region, research firm Frost & Sullivan predicts business opportunities will be worth $45 billion by 2020, primarily driven by the unique health and medical challenges present across the continent, including high incidences of parasitic illnesses and lifestyle diseases, as well as malaria, cholera, yellow fever and tetanus. Malaria and AIDs are on course to account for 40% of total pharmaceutical revenues to 2020.

However, in the Middle East region, it will be Saudi Arabia recording the highest value of annual pharmaceutical sales by the end of this decade, at over $9.1 billion according to Frost & Sullivan. Egypt is on track to follow, with sales of $8.4 billion forecasted and South Africa third with estimated sales of over $7 billion within less than three years.

“South Africa faces a number of unique health and medical challenges. However, growing affluence and the wider adoption of westernised lifestyles is compounding the problems and bringing a rise in cases of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This has resulted in increased demand for chronic prescription drugs,” commented Cara Turner, Brand Manager – Pharma, UBM.

“While the country has made several commitments to preventative medicine a range of new drugs and therapies will be required to combat the effects of these diseases in the interim,” she added.

CPhI Middle East & Africa, which is supported by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dubai Science Park, ExpoLink, the National Committee for Pharmaceutical Industries and the SAARPE Association, is the region’s leading platform bringing together pharma product manufacturers, suppliers and buyers from every step of the pharma supply chain, including drug research and discovery to finished dosage.

Over 250 local, regional and international exhibitors from more than 30 countries are expected to attend, indeed demand has been so robust that an additional 300 square metres (6%) of space has been added to the exhibition floor – 4,000 pharma professionals are expected to participate in the three-day show, around half of which will come from the MEA region.    

CPhI Middle East & Africa takes place from 3-5 September 2018, at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi, with its co-located events ICSE, P-MEC, InnoPack and FDF.

-Ends-

To find out more about CPhI Middle East & Africa, visit https://www.cphi.com/mea/ or if you’d like register for free to attend the event; www.gotocphi.com/abudhabi18

About CPhI

CPhI drives growth and innovation at every step of the global pharmaceutical supply chain from drug discovery to finished dosage. Through exhibitions, conferences and online communities, CPhI brings together more than 100,000 pharmaceutical professionals each year to network, identify business opportunities and expand the global market. CPhI hosts events in Europe, North America, Korea, China, India, Japan, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and co-locates with ICSE for contract services, P-MEC for machinery, equipment & technology, FDF for finished dosage formulations, InnoPack for pharmaceutical packaging and BioPh for biopharma. CPhI provides an online buyer & supplier directory at CPhI-Online.com.

For more information visit: www.cphi.com

The UBM annual schedule of Pharmaceutical events includes: CPhI, ICSE, P-MEC, BioPh and InnoPack Japan (18-20 April, 2018 at the Big Sight Exhibition Centre – Tokyo, Japan); CPhI, ICSE, FDF and InnoPack North America (24-26 April, 2018 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center – Philadelphia, USA); CPhI and P-MEC China (20 – 22 June, 2018 at SNIEC – Shanghai, China); CPhI Korea (28-30 August 2018, COEX, Seoul, Korea); CPhI Middle East & Africa (3-5 September, 2018 at the ADNEC – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates). BioLIVE (9-11, October, 2018 in Madrid); CPhI, ICSE, P-MEC, FDF and InnoPack Worldwide (9-11 October, 2018 at the IFEMA, Feria de Madrid – Madrid, Spain); CPhI & P-MEC India (3–6 December 2018 at the BEC and BKC Exhibition and Convention Centres – Mumbai, India); Pharmapack Europe (6-7 February, 2019 at the Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles – Paris, France); CPhI, P-MEC, ICSE, Labworld and Innopack South East Asia (6-8 March, 2018 at BITEC - hall 99 – Bangkok, Thailand).

About UBM

CPhI Middle East & Africa is organised by UBM, which in June 2018 combined with
Informa PLC to become a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B Events organiser in the world.

To learn more and for the latest news and information, visit www.ubm.com and www.informa.com.

Media contact

JAMES LAKIE

General Manager

Tel: +971 4 365 2711 | Mobile: +971 50 153 6544

E-mail: james.lakie@shamalcomms.com

Office 106, Arjaan Office Tower, Dubai Media City

PO Box 502701 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Website: www.shamalcomms.com     

A member of the WorldWisePR Affiliates

© Press Release 2018