MARKET NEWS Boom expected in Asia .. Pad6c OTCmarkets

The huge economic growth experienced in the Asia-Pacific region over the last 5 years, has fuelled even greater growth in the national over-the-counter (OTe) markets of the countries in this region.

According to Strategic Forecasting Services, the Asia-Pacific OTe market is set to more than double from $US 1.1 to 2.3 billion between 1992 and the year 2000. The graph shows OTe sales already make up a significant proportion of the total pharmaceutical sales in each of the countries in this region.

OTe sales as % of total pharmaceutical sales

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Moving towards the year 2000, the Asia-Pacific OTe market is expected to become more regulated, and to have more involvement from international pharmaceutical companies. Previously, it has been dominated by national pharmaceutical companies. -Media release

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