Pharma firm survives, thrives

[PHNOM PENH POST]

Ratanak Ratana Pharmaceutical Co, began importing medicine to Cambodia in 2008, just as the world was facing a serious economic crisis. The company has thrived, though, going from importing two types of medicine in its beginning stages to currently importing about 30 different kinds.

Phnom Penh Post reporter Sieam Bunthy interviewed Sien Sin Dy, the company’s director, about making inroads into the growing Cambodian pharmaceutical market.

Why did you look at the medical market in Cambodia and decide to take up the business of importing medicines?
I have medical knowledge from being a pharmacist and doctor. I know about both medicines and illnesses, so my customers trust me and order my products. I saw that there was large domestic demand for medicines because local production is not enough, and we need both imports and local production to meet demand.

Cambodian wholesalers urgently need anti-counterfeiting guidelines

[SECURING PHARMA]

The Cambodian Department of Drugs and Food (DDF) has found that a significant number of pharmaceutical wholesalers in the country are unsure about the definition of counterfeit medicine and are not adequately informed about the issues surrounding fake drugs.

The regulator is thus calling for the development of guidelines setting out anti-counterfeiting measures, which it says wholesalers urgently need to follow.

The DDF's findings are set out in a report, "Perceptions and practices of pharmaceutical wholesalers surrounding counterfeit medicines in a developing country: a baseline survey", published by BioMed Central Health Services Research on 11 November. It discusses the outcome of a 2009 survey of 62 pharmaceutical wholesalers in Cambodia that was carried out by the DDF in collaboration with Japan's Kanazawa University.

International Pharmaceutical and Medical Exhibition in Phnom Penh

[AKP]

Capital Phnom Penh will host international pharmaceutical and medical exhibition facilitated by Vietnam Pharmaceutical from Nov. 24 to 27 at Koh Pich (Diamond Island) Convention and Exhibition Center.

First ever of its kind in Cambodia, the exhibition is expected to accommodate around 300 stalls to showcase a wide range of new pharmaceuticals, the latest diagnostic application, disease prevention and treatment and the advanced medical devices & equipment.

Pharmaceutical companies and enterprises from many countries including Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam will join the event.

Detailed information of the exhibition will be released through popular mass media in Cambodia to potential target audience shortly.

Agent takes pride in helping expats get quality medical care

[PHNOM PENH POST]

Since 2006, David Treal, the managing director of AG Cambodia, has been helping people get medical care in Cambodia – and he takes pride in his work.

At his office next to the tennis courts at the Cambodiana Hotel, Treal says expats living in Cambodia need to have health insurance because Cambodia is more at risk than European countries.

“Expats here need to feel secure about the health of their families,” he says.

Treal, originally from Nice, in the south of France, where he worked as a musician playing the drums, had been working for an insurance broker in Thailand when he visited Cambodia.

Brush-off for cure-all toothpaste

[PHNOM PENH POST]

Senior officials at the Ministry of Information this week demanded the halt of a toothpaste advertising campaign that promised not only whiter teeth, but to cure skin and liver diseases, as well as cancer.
The product, however, was never registered with the Ministry of Health.

Advertising for Heng Bora Company’s HBR toothpaste claimed that it relieved high blood pressure, nose infect-ions, liver disease and even physical disabilities.

The product could also be rubbed on the skin as a balm, according to the advertising.

Research and Markets: Cambodia Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q4 2011

[BUSINESS WIRE]

DUBLIN -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Cambodia Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q4 2011" report to their offering.

Business Monitor International's Cambodia Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, pharmaceutical associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Cambodia's pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.

Cambodia will continue to remain unattractive to foreign pharmaceutical investors given its widespread corruption and low per-capita healthcare and pharmaceutical expenditure. Over the longterm, BMI expects pharmaceutical companies to take a greater interest in the country as they look for highgrowth frontier markets. However, this decision still depends on whether the government actively tries to improve its political situation and regulatory regime.

Cambodia & Vietnam next on CRO expansion map

[Outsourcing-Pharma.com]

CROs will expand into Cambodia and Vietnam in response to competition for patients across Asia-Pacific, a Roche manager told PRO 2011.

Intense competition for patients and clinical trial sites is making it harder to enrol studies in Asia-Pacific on time. In response, contract research organisations (CRO) are looking beyond traditional markets.

“I expect Vietnam and Cambodia to emerge as clinical trial regions. Large CROs are exploring these countries due to competition for patients in other areas of Asia-Pacific”, James Tsui, contracts and outsourcing manager for Roche in Asia-Pacific, said at Patient Recruitment Outsourcing (PRO) 2011.

Competition in oncology, cardiovascular disease, central nervous system, and diabetes is intense. The number of qualified trial sites is a limiting factor. Options are cut further, Tsui said, as some study centres prioritize recruitment of trials sponsored by CROs and biopharm to which they are affiliated.

Research and Markets: Cambodia Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Report Q2 2011

[BUSINESS WIRE]

DUBLIN--Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Cambodia Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Report Q2 2011" report to their offering.

The Cambodia Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Report features Business Monitor International (BMI)'s 5 and 10-year forecasts for drugs and healthcare expenditure and imports and exports, focusing on the growth outlook for the prescription, OTC, patented drugs and generics market segments.

Cambodia Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Report provides industry professionals, market investors and corporate and financial services analysts with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on the Cambodian pharmaceutical and healthcare industry.

Key Benefits:

• Benchmark independent 5 and 10-year pharmaceutical and healthcare industry forecasts on Cambodia to test other views - a key input for successful budgeting and strategic business planning in the Cambodian pharmaceutical and healthcare market.
• Target business opportunities and risks in the Cambodian pharmaceutical and healthcare sector through our reviews of latest industry trends, regulatory changes and major deals, projects and investments in Cambodia.
• Assess the activities, strategy and market position of your competitors, partners and clients via Company Profiles (inc. SWOTs, KPIs, latest activity) and Competitive Landscape Tables. 

Cambodia Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q3 2011

[Companiesandmarkets.com]

View Table of Contents 
Cambodia Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q3 2011

Given the low per capita spending on pharmaceuticals and widespread corruption, Cambodia will remain of marginal interest to leading foreign drugmakers in the near term. However, the need to forge new markets will gradually lead to pharmaceutical companies taking a greater interest in this South East Asian country, although much will depend on its commitment to the improvement of its intellectual property (IP) environment and political environment.

Headline Expenditure Projections

- Pharmaceuticals: KHR812.33bn (US$194mn) in 2010 to KHR894.11bn (US$217mn) in 2011; +10.1% in local currency terms and +11.7% in US dollar terms. Forecast up moderately from Q211 due to macroeconomic factors.

- Healthcare: KHR3,037bn (US$725mn) in 2010 to KHR3,295bn (US$799mn) in 2011; +8.5% in local currency terms and +10.1% in US dollar terms. Forecast up moderately from Q211 due to macroeconomic factors.

- Medical devices: KHR47.15bn (US$11mn) in 2010 to KHR51.06bn (US$12mn) in 2011; +8.3% in local currency terms and +9.9% in US dollar terms. Forecast up moderately from Q211 due to macroeconomic factors.

Medical imports decline

[PHNOM PENH POST]

THE supply of pharmaceutical products has outstripped demand, causing a decrease in the value of drug imports during the first half of 2011, experts say.

An increase in the number of firms importing pharmaceutical products in 2010 led to this year’s drop, Medical Trust Company Sales Manager Kaing Koh Seng said.

“[In the first six months] we have seen the amount of imported drugs decrease slightly, as there are now more local competitors vying in the market,” he said.

Figures from Ministry of Commerce’s Camcontrol Department show the value of drugs imported fell to US$52.1 million during the first six months of 2011, from $58.3 million in the same period last year.

Cambodia imports medical products particularly from Vietnam, China and Thailand, but also countries such as South Korea and Bangladesh, said Phnom Penh-based Kaing Koh Seng.

The Kingdom’s small market size meant economies of scale are not as easily attained for imports as they are in other countries, which can make prices for pharmaceutical products more expensive than in its neighbours, he added.

Treatment touted: Growth seen in medical tourism

[PHNOM PENH POST]

TROPICANA Medical Centre Malaysia announced a partnership to cooperate on medical tourism with Cambodia’s Wonder World Travel & Tours.

“This is the first time we have opened a representative office here, but we know the Cambodian market has lots of potential,” said Tropicana Medical Centre acting marketing director Michael Chua on Wednesday.

He said Cambodian patients generally travelled to Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore, but touted Malaysia as a high quality, cheap location.

Wonder World Travel and Tours Managing Director Francis Anthony said Cambodians often go abroad to seek medical care.

“Doctors in Cambodia are good, but the cost can be high and service is not good,” he said.

Ho Vandy, co-chair of the tourism working group with the Government-Private Sector Forum, said yesterday that many local travel and tour firms were finding partners in countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

“Medical tourism services are now becoming very popular here,” he said yesterday. “All the travel agents are doing package tours for tourists’ medical check ups.” He reckoned Vietnam was the main destination for the Kingdom’s medical tourists.