Pakistan extends along either side of the historic Indus River, following its course from the mountain valleys of the Himalayas down to the Arabian Sea. Bordering India, China, Afghanistan and Iran, Pakistan is strategically located along the ancient trade routes between Asia and Europe. Pakistan's 796,095 square kilometres of territory include a wide variety of landscapes, from arid deserts to lush green valleys and stark mountain peaks.
The official name of Pakistan is Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The country has a population of approximately 152.5 million people and it is the sixth most populous country in the world. Pakistan comprises of four provinces namely Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan & North West Frontier Province. The total GDP in 2004-2005 was estimated at US$75 billion.
Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad (the capital), Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Quetta are the most important cities of Pakistan. Specifically, Karachi and Lahore are the hub of business activity.
There are over 400 licensed pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan, including 30 multinationals who have over 53 percent of market share. Approximately one-third of Pakistan's total consumption of pharmaceuticals are imported. Market potential is good for antibiotics, vaccines, analgesics, tranquilizers, hormones, anti-hypertensives, anti-ulcerants, cardiovascular, anti-cancer, psychiatric, contraceptives and birth control drugs.
The total outlay on the health sector is budgeted at Rs 38.0 billion, which has increased by 15.8 percent over last year. The existing network of medical services consists of 916 hospitals, 4582 dispensaries, 5301 Basic Health Units (BHU), 552 Rural Health Centres (RHC), 906 Maternity and Child Health Centres (MCH) and 289 Tuberculosis Centres (TBC).
Pakistan's pharmaceutical industry is worth approximately US$1.18 billion with an annual growth rate of 9.4% as of MAT Q3-2005. Pakistan's pharmaceutical market is comprised of large branded Multinational Companies which are producing and marketing research based products and also other big and small National Companies which predominantly produce and market generic products. The market share of these segments is 53.3% for Multinationals and 46.7% for National Companies. The top 50 companies enjoy 83.5% market share and the top 100 companies have 94.0% market share. There are 20 multinationals in the top 50 companies.
The economis drivers can be classified into the following External and Internal group.
External economic drivers include:
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A very large population - 152 million people
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The Government's emphasis on providing health facilities for everyone
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An increase in per capita income which has provided greater disposable income for health related expenditures
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General health awareness and consciousness among the population
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Approximately 56,000 doctors - both general physicians and specialists - whose prescriptions are the main sales drivers for the industry
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A cut in Government duties on pharmaceutical raw materials and packing materials
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Export opportunities due to WTO implementation
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Manufacturing and marketing of cheaper new generic drugs by National Companies
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Tax holidays for setting up of new pharmaceutical plants
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Government setting up new industrial estates specifically for the pharmaceutical industry
Internal economic drivers include:
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Availability of cheap raw material sources from abroad
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Availability of Chinese machinery which is much cheaper as compared to other countries
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Emphasis on greater field force productivity
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Availability of trained manpower of Multinationals, to National Companies, because of merger related layoffs in MNCs
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New generation of educated entrepeneurs in local companies
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Production processes' rationalisation and improvements
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An increase in sales and marketing spend
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More emphasis on market researcg data, especially in National Companies
