Marketing health care in South East Asia

Abstract

The Asia /Pacific basin is currently the centre of business activity. One particular area in this basin which has caught the attention of businessmen is the Asean region especially the countries of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Investment has poured into these nations and there is rapid development. One particular business which has developed very rapidly is the health care segment. The economies of these countries are flourishing and the standard of health care management has improved. This means there is a ready market for heath care. The thesis begins with a brief introduction to the country profiles and then moves to the health care system of the three countries. The pharmaceutical industry of the three nations are highlighted. The manufacturing base is small Malaysia but is extensive in Thailand and Singapore. Singapore's Economic Development Board is luring high technology based Industries and showering them with generous benefits. Multinationals feel that having Singapore as their base they could tap the entire Asia/Pacific region. Patent rights has become a major issue in Thailand and the relaxed rules has encouraged the mushrooming of generics which has threatened the very existence of multinationals. The distribution network of the pharmaceutical industry is mentioned. Special mention is made to the G.P.O in Thailand which acts as a major purchasing, manufacturing and distributing unit. The various drug regulations in the three countries are published, with special mention given to the registration exercise which is being conducted in Malaysia. The advertising code, O.T.C products and self medication has found a place in the thesis. The cross country analysis throws light on the pharmaceutical business in the three nations. The emergence of Japan as a future source for pharmaceutical technology is explained briefly. The conclusion and the mention of Singapore as the venue for the pharmaceutical business takes us through the last pages of the thesis.