Country Report: Malaysia

A Steady Force

With a reputation as a reliable, if somewhat unspectacular, marketplace, Malaysia has long appealed to life science investors lured in by the prospect of generating consistent returns. Indeed, few can deny the strong underlying credentials of a country that ranked 24th in the World Bank’s ease of doing business this year, comes third within the ASEAN region for GDP per capita, and possesses a fully functional IP framework.

“Malaysia has a straightforward operating environment whereby, post-registration of a therapy, there are few entry barriers as long as physicians are convinced of the efficacy of your drugs and patients are ready to pay for them,” says Wong Kin Sang, country manager of Lundbeck. “It is precisely for this reason that, despite its population size of a mere 32 million people, Malaysia is one of our best performing affiliates within Southeast Asia.” 

Right now, the former British colony can be said to be especially alluring. For one, the overall value of its life sciences sector continues to soar: AffinHwang Capital, for instance, estimates that pharma sales have been expanding steadily at a 10-year CAGR of 8% to 10%, reaching as much as USD 2.2 billion in 2017. Business Monitor International, meanwhile, reports the local medical device segment as also continuing to thrive and forecasts a CAGR of 9.7% up to 2021.

To view the full article on Malaysia's pharma research, manufacturing, and healthcare markets, produced by Focus Reports and featured in Pharm Exec's December 2018 issue, click 

 (cycle down to page 30).

To preview and purchase other in-depth global Phama Reports, highlighting several countries and emerging markets, please visit www.industrymatter.com/reports