Taiwan's health care market boosted by aging population

 September 2012Although a challenge for the national government, a growing aging population combined with the country's universal health care system means that Taiwan's health care market can expect to expand in the future, says the latest report by industry experts GlobalData. According to the latest study, Taiwan's pharmaceutical industry is predicted to climb from a value of $3.8 billion in 2011 to $4.8 billion by 2020, while the medical devices industry is expected to reach $3 billion by the end of the decade from a 2011 valuation of $1.9 billion. GlobalData's report states that the country's aging population will be an important factor in driving this growth, with just under 11% of Taiwan's residents above the age of 65 last year. Taiwan's population increased slightly between 2005 and 2010, from 22.8 million to 23.2 million, but this growth was mainly down to a longer national life expectancy, as the birth rate fell from 9.1 per 1,000 population in 2005 to 7.2 per 1,000 population in 2010.Taiwan's over-65 population will expand still further, states GlobalData, accounting for 13% of the country's people by 2020. Correspondingly, Taiwan's disease burden is forecast to increase, placing greater strain on the National Health Insurance (NHI) system and its commitment to universal healthcare. According to Taiwan's Department of Health (DoH), health care expenditure as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will climb from 6.6% in 2011 to 7.2% by 2020. However, despite Taiwan's compulsory insurance policy, out-of-pocket expenditure in the country is high, representing 36.4% of total health spending in 2010, says GlobalData.

To be seventh largest pharma market in Asia-Pac region In a separate recent report from Espicom Business Intelligence, which notes that Taiwan will have the sixth highest proportion of population aged 65 or over in the Asia Pacific region, equal to over one-tenth of the total population, the Taiwanese pharmaceutical market is projected to expand at a high single-digit compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in dollar terms during the forecast period. In 2017, Taiwan will be the seventh largest pharmaceutical market in the Asia Pacific region, and the fourth highest in per capita terms.Many multinationals are active in Taiwan, although the majority of them only have sales and marketing operations as they are deterred from establishing manufacturing operations due to the unequal drug pricing system. Taiwan is heavily dependent on the imports of retail medicaments, which represent over three-quarters of the total imports. Combined with limited pharmaceutical exports, the balance of pharmaceutical trade will remain considerably negative and the deficit is likely to increase in the forecast period.The government is investing heavily in biotechnology research capability and this has helped to encourage growth in the Taiwanese biologic sector, notes Espcom. The government's "Diamond Action Plan for Biotech Takeoff" program aims to double the annual output of the country's biotechnology industry by 2013.There were a number of competitive strategies completed in 2011: the government-sponsored Supra Integration and Incubation Centre (Si2C) was opened for business, which provides support for pharmaceutical companies to develop biologic drugs; Polaris Group revealed plans to invest $50.0 million in a new protein-injection factory; and TaiMed Biologics signed a definitive agreement with Ambrilia Biopharma for protease inhibitor and integrase inhibitor programs for HIV.