A reliance on imports in the absence of significant manufacturing footprint coupled with a growing population make Kuwait a promising destination for Indian pharmaceutical firms to export or set up production facilities, a study report commissioned by the Indian Embassy in the West Asian country showed.
Kuwait’s pharma imports from India are the lowest among Gulf Cooperation Council member-countries, both in terms of value and share of total imports. It is a pointer to the untapped potential for lower cost options from India, which globally is a major generic drugs supplier, the Marmore MENA Intelligence report for the Embassy found.
In 2023, of Kuwait’s total pharma imports of $1,881 million, India accounted for 0.7%. A little over 2% of total GCC pharmaceutical imports were from India. Indian pharmaceutical forms 4.6% of Oman’s total pharmaceutical imports, the highest amongst the GCC countries, while UAE imports of $173.3 million from India, represents the highest value of imports among the six countries.
The Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India, with whom the Embassy shared the report, in a communication to its members said the government of Kuwait is actively working on a pharmaceutical manufacturing strategy to develop a competitive, export-oriented industry. High-quality drug formulations, excluding active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturing for the present; JVs with global companies for localising biosimilar production for regional and global markets; localisation of packaging materials for medicines and medical supplies; expansion of supply contracts to support local manufacturers; as well as incentive and support programmes for local producers are likely to be some of the features of the strategy, Pharmexcil said.
Kuwait’s population has grown 12.3% from 4.47 million in 2019 to an estimated 5.01 million in 2024.
At present, there is one local manufacturing company – the Kuwait Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries Company. The generic painkillers and antibiotics manufactured by it are used for domestic consumption as well as for exports to the GCC and MENA region.
Key import sources for Kuwait are the U.S. and European countries of Germany, , Switzerland, France, Ireland and Italy.
A government study in Kuwait in March outlined various government objectives to support development of medical industries sector, which present an opportunity for international players to work in tandem with the government to fast-track the localisation of pharma manufacturing, the Marmore report said.
Marmore said the advantages for companies tapping Kuwait include stress on expansion of generic medicines availability in the country to improve affordability while also pointing to the benefits of early entry, by pharma firms, to take advantage of pricing rules. While early entry provides higher margins, later entry enables suppliers to advantage from a larger volume of sales. This is because late entrants are forced to be priced lower than their counterparts, making them more affordable for the public, it said.
Published – May 05, 2025 10:05 pm IST
