NEWS: The Markets for Excipients in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia Render Untapped Potential with Above-average Growth, According to Kline

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Oct. 26, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Southeast Asia is the fastest growing pharmaceutical market in the world witnessing double-digit growth since 2011, with growth of excipients consumption in the region also strong and estimated to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 13.4% through 2020, finds recently published Specialty Excipients for Oral Solid-Dosage-Form Pharmaceuticals: Emerging Markets Analysis and Opportunities by global market research and management consulting firm Kline. Another excipients market analyzed in the report with solid pockets of opportunity is the Middle East and Africa region, forecast to progress at a CAGR of nearly 8% through 2020.

Despite having small shares in the global market, the Middle East and Africa and Southeast Asia account for shares of roughly 5% and 4%, respectively, in the global specialty excipients market. Growing population, increasing government healthcare expenditure, developing health insurance industry, and the increase in the prevalence of chronic disease, among others, are vital contributors to the pharmaceutical industry's growth in these regions.

However, these markets are heavily dependent on imports for pharmaceutical raw materials with minimum-to-no domestic manufacturing. The top five suppliers in these regions are DFE Pharma, Roquette, Meggle, JRS Pharma, and MingTai, together holding over 50% share in sales by volume. European suppliers have relatively greater influence in the Middle East, while Indian and Chinese suppliers have a relatively greater share in the Southeast Asian market.

"Southeast Asia is the fastest growing pharmaceutical market in the world and attracts the interest of many global pharmaceutical companies," comments Nikola Matic, Industry Manager, Chemicals & Materials. "Although the pharmaceutical industry regulations in Southeast Asia are not as stringent, the countries within this region are heading towards higher regulatory standards and synchronization of regulations, aiming to reduce regulatory complexities for manufacturers. This creates a favorable environment for the market entry for excipients suppliers."

With over 40% of total consumption by volume and value in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is by far the largest consumer of binders and fillers, followed by Thailand and Vietnam. In the Middle East and Africa region, the Middle East accounts for over 60% share of the total consumption volume in the region and Turkey, Israel, and Egypt are the three leading countries in terms of consumption of excipients.

Following the global trend, the fastest growing category in these regions is coatings. However, the share of ready-to-use formulated coatings in these regions is much higher than the film-formers for in-house coatings compared to the other regions. Among the key reasons for this preference is the ease of use and less developed formulation research and development technologies and expertise.

Oral solid doses are the prominent drug delivery route in the pharmaceutical industry, in which, the role of several excipients is continuously growing to contribute added functionalities to the drug formulations. Growth in the local manufacturing of OSDFs is expected to drive the market of excipients in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and Africa; as a result, these regions can represent large growth areas for excipients suppliers.

Understanding the market dynamics of these two regions is important for suppliers to best position their strategies within these promising markets. To learn more about these markets, REGISTER for the webinar taking place on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 10:00 am EDT.

Specialty Excipients for Oral Solid-Dosage-Form Pharmaceuticals: Emerging Markets Analysis and Opportunities allows users to view data by supplier, excipient category, and excipient through its interactive database and the written reports provide subscribers with enlightening explanations on the database figures, forecasts models, and market drivers.

About Kline

Kline is a worldwide consulting and research firm dedicated to providing the kind of insight and knowledge that helps companies find a clear path to success. The firm has served the management consulting and market research needs of organizations in the agrochemicals, chemicals, materials, energy, life sciences, and consumer products industries for over 50 years. For more information, visit www.KlineGroup.com.