Myanmar’s First Private Pharmaceutical Factory Opens in Dagon Seikkan Township

Myanmar’s first privately owned pharmaceutical factory opened its doors in Dagon Seikkan Town­ship, Yangon on the third week of July.

Located in Industrial Zone 1, Pacific Medi­cal Industries Limited’s (PMI) facility is a two-story building that in­cludes offices, a quality control area, and a mas­sive 16,630 square meter manufacturing floor.

In an effort to relieve the country’s reliance on imported pharmaceutical products, CEO Zaw Moe Khaing built a state-of-the-art factory that meets international standards while providing Myanmar people with affordable medicine.

“90 percent of pharma­ceuticals consumed in Myanmar are imported. Further, Myanmar is the only country in the ASE­AN region with no pri­vately owned pharmaceu­tical manufacturing,” said U Zaw Moe Khaing, CEO of Pacific AA Group.

Myanmar relies heavily on India, Thailand, Phil­ippines, France, U.S., and China, for pharmaceuti­cal products. The lion’s share comes from Indo­nesia, which accounts for roughly half of all health­care imports, according to Government statistics.

PMI’s $20 million facil­ity is looking to treat the country’s medicinal woes by building the first My­anmar facility to receive a Drug Manufacturing Es­tablishment Registration from the United States Food & Drug Administra­tion, in addition to their Myanmar FDA approval.

The PMI facility strictly adheres to the WHO and EU GMP guidelines as well as the Pharmaceuti­cal Inspection Co-opera­tion Scheme (PIC/S), an international operative agreement that regulates the production of medici­nal products.

U Zaw Moe Khaing wants his factory’s con­sumer safety and product quality to far exceed that of substandard rivals in neighboring Bangladesh and China.

Initially, PMI will of­fer 50 different types of medicine, ranging from simple oral products such as tablets, capsules, and powders before expand­ing to more sophisticated medication capable of treating diseases like hy­pertension, diabetes and heart disease, according to Dr. Saw Nay Nwal, Ex­ecutive Director of Pacific AA Group.

“We will offer afford­able healthcare by creat­ing locally made products that meet international standards of quality and safety,” Dr. Saw Nay Nwal said.

Myanmar’s current do­mestic pharmaceutical production is limited to state owned enterprises operated by the Minis­try of Industry. Under the banner of Myanmar Pharmaceutical Indus­tries, two factories have operated since the late 1950s and produce ap­proximately 200 types of medicine.

Source: Myanmar Business Today