Govt pushes for biopharmaceutical development

BANGKOK, 14 August 2017 (NNT) - The Ministry of Public Health and the private sector are collaborating to develop biopharmaceutical innovation in a bid to position Thailand as the hub of international medicine.

Director-General of the Department of Medical Sciences M.D. Sukhum Kanchanaphimai said Thailand imports more than 25-billion-baht biotechnology drugs to treat diseases such as severe Psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis each year.

There are two million Thai people who need the drugs, said M.D. Sukhum. However, only 5,338 of them have access to the drugs. The department therefore made an agreement with Siam Bioscience Co., Ltd. to develop biopharmaceutical products with the objective to reduce imports and enhance the country’s competitiveness in terms of biopharmaceuticals.

The department hopes to position Thailand as the hub of international medicine by the year 2025 and one of the top three leaders in terms of medicine and public health in Asia.

http://nwnt.prd.go.th/CenterWeb/News...T6008150010001