THE pharmaceutical market is projected to generate $2 billion in revenue this year and keep growing until 2029, driven by demand for generic drugs, the Board of Investments (BoI) said.
“Definitely, there is more potential for the pharmaceutical industry, especially since steady growth is expected to continue at an annual rate of 4.1% through 2029,” the BoI said in a statement on Monday.
“This upward trend is expected to be largely driven by the increasing demand for generic drugs due to the government’s efforts to make healthcare more affordable and accessible to all Filipinos,” it added.
The market’s growth is expected to expand opportunities for innovation, investment, and broader access to essential medicine, it said.
However, BoI Industry Development Services Executive Director Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa noted that the Philippine pharmaceutical industry remains import-dependent.
“From 2019 to 2024, the Philippines saw a steady rise in pharmaceutical imports, peaking in 2021,” she said.
“Exports, on the other hand, remain almost nil relative to our imports and have been declining. For the first semester of 2025, exports have declined 25% while imports increased by 5%,” she added.
The BoI has been implementing the Integrated Roadmap for the Philippine Pharmaceutical Industry (IRPPI) since 2023 to make the industry’s value chain more agile and resilient.
The government hopes to increase the capacity of domestic manufacturers to produce 60% of medicine registered in the Philippines.
It also hopes to make the country a leading producer of essential pharmaceutical products and services.
According to Ms. Halili-Dichosa, key updates in the roadmap include the issuance of the guidelines for pharmaceutical economic zones, finalization of the Tatak Pinoy Strategy, simplified export processes for Philippine products, and the planned establishment of the Virology Institute of the Philippines. — Justine Irish D. Tabile