Healthcare, IT Open New Road To India-Indonesia Friendship

Indonesia’s US$5 billion pharmaceutical market is dominated by 178 domestic companies, four state-owned and 24 multinational players, and one of the biggest challenges facing health care in the country today is getting access to medicines at lower prices. In the past few years, the Indonesian government has relaxed norms to create more flexibility in healthcare rules, paving the way for many foreign companies, including from India, to enter the country’s pharmaceutical market. The registration process for medicines marketed in Indonesia has become smoother, and Indonesia today provides greater flexibility for foreign players to invest in the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) sector and is also looking at allowing 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) for foreign firms to set up formulation plants in the country with local partners.