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Saudi announces $3b investment opportunities in vital medicines

Minister says the launch is to achieve pharmaceutical and health security in the country

Saudi Arabia announced on Friday the launch of several investment opportunities in the vaccines and vital medicines industry, valued at $3.4 billion.

Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and Chairman of the Manufacturing Vaccines and Vital Medicines Committee, said the launch is to achieve pharmaceutical and health security, and making Saudi Arabia an important centre for this promising industry.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the minister stressed that the targeted pharmaceutical sectors in general, whose value exceeds $5 billion, will be implemented in several stages. It will start with vaccines and vital medicines, as the first phase will focus on localising vaccines, plasma, and insulin technologies, stressing the importance of transferring their full technologies to contribute mainly to building the Kingdom's capabilities in these sectors. "This will reduce the high cost on the state budget, which currently imports 100 per cent of vaccines and vital pharmaceutical products. The vital medicines sector enjoys the fastest growth rate in the market among all pharmaceutical sectors with an annual rate of 17 per cent.”

Alkhorayef said that the Manufacturing Vaccines and Vital Medicines Committee will focus in the first phase on localising basic children's vaccines and building the necessary self-capacities and manufacturing platforms to combat future pandemics. This will be followed by insulin production to treat diabetes patients and then support plasma collection centres with a world-class factory to achieve self-sufficiency in plasma derivatives, while the second phase will focus on localising immunological and cancer treatments technologies, where the size of this vital sector is estimated at more than $2 billion annually, of which insulin represents approximately $340 million.