Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/22/2013 -- Opportunities in Kuwait's healthcare and pharmaceuticals market are limited, given its small population, limited domestic drug production and the high proportion of expatriates. The government funds the majority of healthcare spending - around 80% - but we forecast that private spending will increase, not least due to the government's decision to raise the fees non-Kuwaiti nationals pay to use the public healthcare system. We expect that the increased income gained will be used to expand public healthcare offerings. Currently many Kuwaitis travel abroad for treatment - a practice the government wants to curtail. The market has a high incidence of non-communicable diseases, with diabetes, heart disease and obesity key concerns.

Headline Expenditure Projections

- Pharmaceuticals: KWD301mn (US$1.07bn) in 2012 to KWD325mn (US$1.16bn) in 2013; +8.0% in local currency terms and +7.5% in US dollar terms. Forecast lowered slightly from Q213.
- Healthcare: KWD1.28bn (US$4.56bn) in 2012 to KWD1.36bn (US$4.83bn) in 2013; +6.4% in local currency terms and +6.0% in US dollar terms. Forecast raised from Q213.

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Risk/Reward Rating

Kuwait scored 58 in BMI's Pharmaceutical Risk/Reward Rating (RRR) for Q313. While it has the same score as last quarter, it has dropped on place in the rankings. It now stands in third place in our regional rankings.

Key Trends And Developments

The Ministry of Health plans to raise the medical fees paid by expatriates when using the public healthcare system. No timeline regarding how and when the increase in these fees will be implemented has been published.

In May 2013, the Ministry of Health issued a warning to patients following the discovery of 400 cases of counterfeit medicines in pharmacies across the Gulf region. In an inspection carried out nationally, officials found 420 fake or out-of-date drugs across 4,477 establishments.

In terms of regulatory developments, Kuwait's National Assembly approved a bill in April 2013 that will see changes implemented to the regulation of advertisements for health products. Meanwhile in May 2013 the Minister of Health ordered a three-month moratorium on gastric bypass procedures until new regulations and protocols are approved.

BMI Economic View: Strong domestic consumption will help maintain the growth of Kuwait's economy in 2013, with BMI forecasting real GDP of 3.0% for the year. This marks a downward revision to levels of growth witnessed in 2011 and 2012, as revenues generated by the oil sector have fallen.

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