The Business Year

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Dr. Samy Hanna

Acting General Manager, Ebn Sina

The government handles about 60% of the pharmaceutical market, with the remaining 40% handled by the private sector. The Qatari pharmaceutical sector is worth $390 million as of 2012, with an annual growth forecast of 15%-16% in the next five years. The main driving force for growth in this sector, and indeed all sectors, is the 2022 FIFA World Cup, for which there are huge government infrastructure investments in all sectors, particularly in education and healthcare. Outside of Qatar, Saudi Arabian contractors dominate the healthcare sector in the Gulf region, with about 45%-48% of the market, whereas Qatar only has a 4.5% share of the total pharmaceutical market. However, this should grow significantly. A huge budget has already been approved by their excellencies Sheikh Hamad and Sheikh Tamim, at about QAR300 billion, which also includes a special fund for health and education.

Emre Anlar

CEO, Qatari German Company for Medical Devices

We are one of the only two medical devices manufacturers in Qatar, and there are just three or four in the GCC. Similar to many other segments in Qatar, the industry has a lot of room to grow. As part of the Qatar National Vision 2030, investments were directed toward building the capacity of the Hamad Medical Corporation and also establishing state-of-the-art hospitals in locations such as Sidra. In the Qatari healthcare market, Hamad Medical Corporation is the primary buyer of healthcare goods, purchasing around 80% to 90% of the supply. Since there is very little manufacturing in Qatar, it buys most of its products from abroad. Noting this demand gap, I expect to see more healthcare players establish operations in Qatar to cater to the market’s need. We will see more local players in the market because Qatar is in an ever-expanding economic phase, along with its population. As the population increases and purchasing power rises, spending on healthcare will also continue to grow.

Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Sulaiti

Chairman, Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Sulaiti

In Qatar, the pharmaceutical industry and medical devices industry is a new area. We mainly supply Hamad Medical Corporation. We expect the new compulsory insurance law to affect us by creating demand for medicine and boosting both the market in general and our sales in particular. Currently, Qatar is producing about 10% of the GCC’s medicine needs. We will try to gain a greater share of the medicine market, which is worth $6 billion in total. In the GCC, there is a tender process, as all GCC members buy from the Central Health Ministry in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 2013, we won around 65 tenders. New legislation regarding foreign companies operating in the medical sector here will bring about a positive change for the market. Having already invested approximately QAR400 million, we also have a number of new products that are currently in the registration process. Also, we are trying to patent some products.

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