NANOTEC and GPO to upgrade drug innovation in Thailand
To support projected growth of pharma market in the region
The partnership will help upgrade the research capabilities of the two Thai agencies and promote national competitiveness, said Soontorn Vorakul, acting managing director for the GPO.
‘The focus of the research collaboration will be in the area of cosmeceutical and drug delivery using nanotechnology,’ he said.
Professor Sirirurg Songsivilai, executive director of NANOTEC, added that the opportunities for nanotechnology in pharmaceutical manufacturing and development are enormous.
‘It is clear that the international pharmaceutical industry has embraced nanotechnology research in their manufacturing. It is essential for the GPO and NANOTEC to join forces and share expertise if we are to keep pace with drug discovery,’ he said.
Thailand will be the eighth largest economy in the Asia Pacific region by 2016, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). GDP growth is projected to increase to 7.1% in the same period.
The EIU also projects an annual growth rate of around 0.7% and the population to be the ninth largest in the Asia Pacific region in five years’ time. The elderly population is also rising; Thailand is expected to have the eighth highest proportion in the Asia Pacific region by 2016.
By 2016 it is estimated that Thailand will have the seventh largest pharmaceutical market in the Asia Pacific region.