Now Available: Egypt Pharmaceuticals Competitive Intelligence Report Q4 2010

Nov. 23, 2010 - PRLog -- In 1950, the pharmaceutical industry in Egypt consisted of about 50 small national producers of drugs. Leading multinationals held a 10% share of the local market. In the 1960s, three foreign firms, Hoechst, Pfizer and Swiss Pharma, established joint-venture operations with local players. By 1970, following nationalisation, 11 local producers contributed 90% of the domestic market. In the mid-1980s, the share of public firms stood at 80% of domestic production. In the 1990s, a more liberal policy opened up the market to foreign and domestic newcomers and, by 1996, the industry had nine multinationals, eight private and 11 public-sector companies, employing about 60,000 people.

Currently, Egyptian pharmaceutical demand is mostly met by domestic production, in terms of volume. Foreign companies are responsible for about 65% of this figure, in the form of both local manufacturing output (30%) and contract manufacturing outsourced to Egyptian firms (35%). The country's drug industry, one of Egypt's most promising economic sectors, is likely to witness increased merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the coming years. Local companies in particular have faced a lack of liquidity due to the government's strict pricing policy, which has prevented increases to reflect spiralling costs. Additionally, IP (intellectual property) and regulatory changes required by the TRIPS (Trade- Related Intellectual Property Rights) agreement will disadvantage the position of generics drug makers.

According to Ministry of Health (MoH)-reported data, Egypt has around 100 pharmaceutical companies, of which fewer than 10 are multinationals with local production bases. The health minister has recently announced that an additional 76 drug manufacturing plants are under construction, giving Egypt a total of 180 production facilities and bolstering its forecast for exports.

In addition, leading multinationals such as Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and AstraZeneca, are planning to expand their local operations. Market data published by the Islamic Organisation for Medical Services (IOMS) reflects this trend, placing four multinationals (namely GSK, Novartis, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis) among the leading five companies in Egypt. As well as Pfizer and AstraZeneca, other leading multinationals present in the market include French Servier and US-based Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co.

EIPICO (Egyptian International Pharmaceutical Industries) is the leading domestic firm, with other prominent local manufacturers including Pharco, MUP and Amoun. In December 2007, the outstanding 1.1% share in Amoun was sold to domestic company Mercury Egypt, which had purchased the company from a consortium of investment firms in the course of 2006.

Domestic output is largely focused on generics, with many being copies of patent protected drugs owing to the country's weak patent law. Partial privatisation of a number of state-controlled drug companies, including CID (Chemical Industries Development), should also bring much-needed investment into the state sector. Continued consolidation will also help state drug firms to become more competitive and achieve economies of scale.

The authorities have acknowledged that multinationals with large research and development (R&D) spending represent a sizeable threat to local producers. As a result, the government has recently created an R&D firm, while the Holding Company for Pharmaceuticals has circulated a directive asking Egyptian drug manufacturers to set aside 1% of their revenues for research. However, this figure is still far below the average 15-20% of revenues that multinationals set aside for R&D. In addition, given the sheer cost of developing innovative drugs, it is unlikely that Egyptian drug makers will be able to contribute significantly in this area in the short term.

In general, manufacturers compete within the domain of specific therapeutic groups of drugs, rather than over the whole range of products available. Low per capita income in Egypt means competition is based on price, rather than quality. This is an important factor for prescribing medication, particularly for patients covered by public health insurance schemes. The public sector companies present in the market charge lower prices for the pharmaceutical products as the majority of their products were priced during a period when price controls were prevalent for public sector output.

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Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. We represent the world's top research publishers and analysts and provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available.