Korean pharmaceutical companies look to expand into the Middle East

[Courtesy of Daewoong Pharmaceutical]

South Korean pharmaceutical and bio companies are focusing on entering the Middle Eastern market this year, targeting the rapidly growing local drug markets.

The Middle Eastern pharmaceutical market is expected to become the new ‘blue ocean’ for Korean companies as these countries lack research and development capabilities. The Korean government’s efforts to expand economic cooperation with the Gulf region can also be seen as positive for Korean bio companies.

The Middle East pharmaceutical market is expected to grow every year. According to Fitch Solutions, a global market research firm, the UAE prescription drug market is estimated at $3.2 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 6.4 percent until 2026.

According to the Korean pharmaceutical industry on Monday, Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. plans to launch its botulinum toxin product Nabota in Saudi Arabia in the second half of this year. Daewoong also expects to obtain approval for Nabota in Lebanon and Egypt this summer.

Although the company recently lost a civil lawsuit against Medytox Inc. over botulinum toxin, Daewoong plans to proceed with its foray into the Middle East as scheduled as its request for a suspension of execution of the judgment in the first trial was accepted.

Daewoong also submitted a new drug application for Fexuclue, a gastroesophageal reflux treatment, in Saudi Arabia, to establish a foothold in the Gulf kingdom to advance into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Saudi Arabia is the largest anti-ulcer drug market in the Middle East. The company is aiming to launch Fexuclue in six GCC nations, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, by 2025.

[Courtesy of Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical]

Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp. is also trying to expand its Middle East market with a focus on biosimilar products. Last year, the company applied for approval in six Middle Eastern countries for its first biosimilar anemia treatment Nesbel. The company also plans to have its second biosimilar age-related macular degeneration treatment LucenBS approved in the Middle East within the year.

“Pharmaceuticals are considered a promising industry in the Middle East as the region is striving to diversify the economy,” an official from Chong Kun Dang said. “However, Middle Eastern pharmaceutical companies have limited R&D capabilities and production capacity to meet the rapidly increasing demand.”

Meanwhile, Medytox plans to build a toxin finished product factory in Dubai. Last month, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Dubai Science Park, owned by state-run Tecom Group, to build the facility. This came as a result of company officials accompanying President Yoon Seok-yeol as part of an economic delegation during his visit to the UAE earlier this year.

Medytox will be able to produce MT10109L, the world’s first and only non-animal liquid toxin drug, at its Dubai plant. Furthermore, the company plans to receive halal certification for the plant and target Muslim markets around the world as well as the Middle Eastern and European markets. Medytox is actively discussing this matter with Dubai Science Park.

ChoA Pharmaceutical Co., which is currently participating in the Dubai Food Fair, is also continuously increasing its exports of health functional foods to the Middle East, including nutritional tonics, children’s growth supplements and red ginseng extract solution.

By Shin Yoo-geoung and Yoon Yeon-hae

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