Why Invest In Emerging Markets Now

By Günter Jagschies

This article originally appeared in: the Medicine Maker.

No matter how you choose to define them, “emerging markets” represent an enormous physical area that is both culturally and economically diverse – and it represents a rich business opportunity for biopharma companies. Emerging markets range from extremely poor countries, such as in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, to middle-income countries in the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, and South America. In some cases, it can be difficult to decide what constitutes an emerging market; China, for example, is an economic power, but looking specifically at healthcare development, you could argue that it is still an emerging market.

In some emerging markets, there are areas where many people don’t have access to biopharmaceuticals – or even the most basic healthcare resources. At the other end of the spectrum, there are also populations that are getting wealthier and can afford more advanced medications (see Figures 1 and 2). That group could be, in terms of population, as large as the whole of the European Union and North America put together – and it’s likely to show further significant growth.