Current Situation of the Modern Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Industry in Thailand

Abstract

The modern pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in Thailand remains a downstream industry. In 2019, there were 142 GMP certified modern pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, most of which are manufacturers of finished products containing pharmaceutical chemicals. The manufacturing industry in 2018 was worth 77 billion baht, an increase of 5% from the previous year with a net profit of about 8 %. Although the export of pharmaceutical products has increased, competition is high and the competitive advantages have decreased compared to the potential of import trade. In 2015, the ratio of production value to import value was approximately 35:65. Businesses were more interested in research and development, mostly focusing on the development of generic drugs and new generic drugs in conventional dosage forms. The motivation for production came from the Thai Innovation List policy. Since 2009, documents for drug registration application must comply with the format specified by ASEAN. In addition, drugs approved for registration previously had no expiration date; however, now, the Drug Act, B.E. 2562 (2019) stipulates that registered drugs are valid for 7 years from the date of issue. In 2003, the Ministry of Public Health adopted the World Health Organization guide to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and in 2011, this was superseded by the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S) GMP. Nevertheless, issues that still need to be addressed include the creation of standardized product code management and traceability systems. It is also recommended that government agencies should have more cooperation with businesses to advance the pharmaceutical industry as well as support the use of locally produced drugs.