Morocco's pharmaceutical companies are looking to tap the Arabian Gulf market with their generic medicines as they look to offset weak growth at home.
"[Morocco's] near-term outlook for non-agricultural economic activity remains weak, with subdued prospects for private consumption in particular," according to a Business Monitor International (BMI) report. "We have revised down our 2014 real GDP growth forecast to 2.8 per cent, from 3 per cent previously, with such negative headwinds also having a bearing on the country's pharmaceutical and wider healthcare spending trends."
According to the research group, the Moroccan pharma market's constraints include low per capita consumption and an underdeveloped reimbursement system. In the near term, BMI analysts expect the contraction in pharmaceutical spending in Morocco to continue as the government seeks to reduce the country's large fiscal deficit and weak domestic demand. Access to finance is also difficult for the local drugmakers.
The total expenditure on pharma contracted 2 per cent last year to US$1.11 billion.
Of Morocco's 30 pharma manufacturers that mostly produce generics, only two have a presence in the UAE.
"The rest are keen to get in," said Hamid Kabbage, the export adviser for Maroc Export, the North African nation's export promotion arm.
Six manufacturers from Morocco were present for the first time at this year's Arab Health exhibition.
Among them was Pharma5, which expects to enter the UAE with five medicines, mostly antibiotics, within the next eight months.
It is already present in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, and wants to enter other markets from the UAE.
Morocco exports more than 30 per cent of its overall generics production, said Mr Kabbage.
Bottu Laboratorie, based in Casablanca, is also looking to expand to Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Africa and other Gulf countries from the UAE.
It plans to enter the market with 10 products, including antibiotics, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and diabetes medications, by the year end, said Ahmed Kathir, the export director at Bottu.
Its top markets include Francophone countries such as Ivory Coast and Senegal in Africa as well as the Gulf, with most exports going to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait. The European Union accounts for 10 per cent of its exports.
The overall market value of Morocco's pharma sector was expected at $1.88bn last year, according to data from Maghreb Health Summit and Expo.
Global companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Ranbaxy and Sanofi have a strong presence in Morocco as there is a strong preference for brand-name drugs over generics.
Last year, Jordan's Hikma increased its stake in the local Promopharm to 94.1 per cent, while in September, the UAE-based Abraaj Group invested in Steripharma.
Independent local manufacturers primarily operate under licence or produce generics, said a report from the research company Espicom Healthcare Intelligence in 2012. Among the local producers are Cooper Pharma, Laprophan and Sothéma.
Generics had a 30 per cent market share with the rest accounted for by brand name drugs in 2012, according to a report from Euromonitor.
ssahoo@thenational.ae
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
RoboCop%3A%20Rogue%20City
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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The%20specs
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Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5
Need to know
Unlike other mobile wallets and payment apps, a unique feature of eWallet is that there is no need to have a bank account, credit or debit card to do digital payments.
Customers only need a valid Emirates ID and a working UAE mobile number to register for eWallet account.
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Racecard
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What is double taxation?
- Americans living abroad file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service, which can cost hundreds of dollars to complete even though about 60 per cent do not owe taxes, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service
- Those obligations apply to millions of Americans residing overseas – estimates range from 3.9 million to 5.5 million – including so-called "accidental Americans" who are unaware they hold dual citizenship
- The double taxation policy has been a contentious issue for decades, with many overseas Americans feeling that it punishes them for pursuing opportunities abroad
- Unlike most countries, the US follows a citizenship-based taxation system, meaning that Americans must file taxes annually, even if they do not earn any income in the US.
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
