Future Priorities for the Public Health Medicines Market

Despite great strides in the delivery of healthcare in the developing world, availability and access to quality-assured essential medicines remains a serious challenge. Further, whilst the global public health efforts have been largely focused on the pandemic diseases (HIV, TB, Malaria), and increasingly on Maternal and Child Health, non-communicable diseases (NDCs) such as cancer, hypertension and diabetes are projected to become a major healthcare challenge at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, especially in Africa. Recent literature also reflects an alarming growth in the burden of chronic respiratory conditions like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and allergic conditions among others. The increasing disease burden and need for quality assured medicines occurs against the backdrop of constrained health budgets, an early but palpable shift in Indian pharmaceutical industry priorities; and amidst a clearly fast eroding cost advantage for Indian pharma which will impact on future access to medicines in Africa and other developing nations if the status quo does not change.