The rating set by Business Monitor International (BMI) in its new recently released report, “Lebanon Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Q1, 10,” said that the local medical drug industry is one of the least promising among its Arab peers.

The report highlights several factors that lead to the low rating mainly, the industry’s “reliance on imports, its small size, and the presence of significant amount of counterfeit activity.”

One other factor for the low rating is the fact that “a large proportion of the population is not covered by any sort of health insurance programs.”

BMI’s report said that the future prospects for the sector remain vague. “The market will remain susceptible to shocks caused by funding shortfalls and political problems.”

BMI expects total drug spending in Lebanon to increase to $650 million in 2014 from $500 million in 2008 fuelled by increasing government expenditure and high prices targeted by state policies.

Still, “the figures imply a modest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of only 4.6 percent in local currency terms,” BMI said.