India and China will drive the growth in Asia's pharmaceutical industry as the continent gears up to become the centre of the global pharma market, PriceWaterhouseCoopers said in a report.

As many as 58 per cent of those responded to a survey believed the centre of gravity of the global pharmaceutical market would shift to Asia from North America and Europe, PWC said in its report 'Gearing up for a Global Gravity Shift'.

This confidence was expressed by domestic firms and multinational companies alike, PWC said in a release. Domestic companies in Asia wanted to go global as 65 per cent of them reported increased international share. Besides, multinational companies are increasing presence in the region as one-third of them expand through acquisitions or by developing 'greenfield' sites in the next 12 months.

China and India head the list of target countries for expansion in the sights of MNCs, the report pointed out. "MNCs are increasingly interested in setting up more research and development facilities and conducting more clinical trials in India.

At the same time, companies like Ranbaxy and Dr Reddy's have expanded through acquisitions in western markets aggressively last year," PWC associate director pharmaceutical and life Sciences, Sujay Shetty said.

About 34 per cent companies in Asia were looking for acquisitions and 52 per cent sought to acquire global market share, PWC, which surveyed 185 senior officials in nine countries including India, China, Thailand and Korea, said.