40 pharmaceutical firms in Saudi Arabia cover 36% of market needs for medicines

RIYADH — The number of registered pharmaceutical companies in the Kingdom exceeds 40, covering 36 percent of the Saudi market needs for medicines and the sector is witnessing an estimated annual growth rate of 5 percent, with exports volume surpassing SR1.5 billion, according to chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries & Medical Appliances Corporation (SPIMACO) Muhammad Al-Nahhas.

SPIMACO was established in January 1986 to play a pivotal role in manufacturing medicines in Saudi Arabia. It is functioning according to the latest standards, scientific and industrial technology, transfer of modern industrial technologies, and the training of national cadres.

Al-Nahhas said that SPIMACO is functioning as a pioneering company in manufacturing medicines in the Kingdom by activating the role of the company’s Research and Development Center, so as to benefit from it in the educational aspects, as the center has the latest technology in developing and analyzing pharmaceutical products.

Al-Nahhas made the remarks during a visit made by Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Al-Khorayyef to SPIMACO in Buraidah in the Al-Qassim region on Thursday.

This visit comes within the sphere of the ministry’s endeavor to make Saudi Arabia a hub for manufacturing important medicines, whose market volume is estimated at SR34 billion. The ministry will also strive to increase the local production, so as to achieve self-sufficiency as a strategic goal in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.