Thai medicines have made headway into the ASEAN market, generating around Bt80 million in revenue last year as pharmaceuticals registered in the ASEAN region.

Government Pharmaceutical Organisation GPO Director Dr Vithit Attavechakul said Thailand has advanced in manufacturing medicines for chronic diseases which are widely exported to several ASEAN countries, mainly Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam.Anti-viral drugs for AIDS, anti-diabetic, and anti high-blood pressure drugs are most popular among all medicines.

Thai medicines generated around Bt80 million in revenue last year as pharmaceuticals registered in the ASEAN region.

Dr Vithit said the popularity gained was because consumers were confident of the quality of Thai drugs which are standardised under the GPO and sold both in hospitals and drugstores.

He noted that GPO next week will negotiate with Indonesias equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration to register Thai medicines there. There could also be a joint investment for medications manufacturing in Indonesia.

via Thai medicines penetrate ASEAN market, generating Bt80 mln revenue | MCOT.net.

GPO’s policy is to be the leading domestic drug manufacturer and exporter to the AEC by 2015 in order to accommodate treatment via the country’s public health system and to accommodate free trade for the medicine business and the AEC. Research and development for drug formulas requires bioequivalence and in vitro studies required to represent the efficacy of the drug and to submit for the drug registration to FDA.

The Research and Development Institute, GPO, therefore, established a Bioequivalence Study Center in 2007 by renovating the laboratory and procuring the necessary tools and equipment with a budget of 15 Million Baht in order to apply for Laboratory Quality Standards certification.

At present, GPO is collaborating with a leading Indian Contract Research Organization (CRO) which has provided both clinical research and bioequivalence study services in India, Canada, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, worked as a consultant for GPO and provided the transfer of the necessary technology to elevate GPO’s Bioequivalence Study Center to a level where it could receive international standard accreditation from organizations such as WHO and EMEA. This is to accommodate the GPO’s new production plant in Rangsit which requires such accreditation.