PH pharma sector revenues seen hitting $2B in ’25
The Philippine pharmaceutical industry is projected to generate almost $2 billion in revenues this year, given the government’s continued support for the fast-growing sector.
According to the Board of Investments (BOI), the pharmaceutical sector is expected to grow at an annual rate of 4.1 percent through 2029.
“This upward trend is expected to be largely driven by the increasing demand for generic drugs due to the government’s efforts to make healthcare more affordable and accessible to all Filipinos,” the BOI said in a statement on Monday.
The country’s lead investment promotion agency said inbound pharmaceutical shipments steadily climbed between 2019 and 2024 and peaked in 2021.
On the other hand, exports “remain almost nil” relative to imports and have been declining since, the BOI noted.
In the first semester of this year, exports dropped by a hefty 25 percent, while imports increased by 5 percent.
“The local pharmaceutical market is huge but sadly, the country is very much import dependent,” BOI Industry Development Services Executive Director Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa said.
Road map
Halili-Dichosa said the Integrated Roadmap for the Philippine Pharmaceutical Industry, the sectoral road map for pharmaceuticals, has been updated to support the industry’s growth potential despite market changes.
These include the issuance of Philippine Economic Zone Authority guidelines on establishing pharmazones, which will serve as hubs for companies involved in various aspects of medical and drug manufacturing activities.
The Philippines should be able to attract more investors as it is deemed the largest pharmaceutical market in Southeast Asia, according to BMI, a Fitch Solutions company.
BMI expects the local pharmaceutical market to be worth P438 billion ($7.5 billion) by 2029, up 24.4 percent from P352 billion ($6.1 billion) in 2024, reflecting a five-year compounded annual growth rate of 4.5 percent in local currency terms and 4.1 percent in US dollar terms.
Per the BMI report, multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca’s P7-billion investment in the country, which includes the development of the Pharma Innovation Hub, will strengthen the country’s position in the global market.
The BOI also said that Tatak Pinoy Strategy is being finalized to classify pharmaceuticals as one of the focus industries.
Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing an administrative order to simplify the process for exporting locally produced pharmaceutical products.
Recently, President Marcos signed Republic Act No. 12290 to establish the Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines, which aims to scale up the country’s defenses against future pandemics and other public health threats.
By 2030, the sectoral roadmap envisions a resilient and agile value chain to ensure pharmaceutical security for Filipinos and better health outcomes.
It aims to scale up the capacity of local manufacturers to produce 60 percent of the country’s registered medicines and become leading producers of essential pharmaceutical products and services.
The industry blueprint also seeks to make the Philippine pharmaceutical industry a global player in innovation and access.
