In January 2025, the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development issued a resolution to implement Saudization rates for pharmacy professionals. Under the scheme, private establishments operating in the Kingdom that employ 5 or more workers will have the obligation to employ a required percentage of Saudi citizens.
– Community pharmacy and medical complexes: 35%
– Hospitals: 65%
– Other pharmacy-related activities (manufacturing plants, distribution): 55%
Saudi professionals hired under this scheme will have to be paid the minimum wage or more, that correspond to 7,000 SAR.
According to the General Authority of Statistics in its Labor Market Statistics, the overall unemployment rate is 3,5% in Q4 2024, but the rate reaches 7% if we exclude foreign workers. In a context where Saudi Arabia plans to diversify its economy and cut public sector jobs with cash payoffs, pharmacy seems to be a good outlet for Saudi citizens.
Pharmacy actors are gearing up to respond to this ambitious plan:
– Abbvie’s General Manager Saudi Arabia Ashraf Daoud announced, in a Linkedin post, a strategic memorandum of understanding with King Saoud University, to drive “impactful initiatives in research, training and knowledge exchange”.
– Tabuk Pharmaceuticals announced a Technical Acceleration Program, a 12-month initiative to “drive operational excellence” in manufacturing.
By July 2025, everything will have to be in working order. It represents an opportunity for Saudi workers but also a challenge in pharma manufacturing, notably for foreign companies, that will now have to integrate these new Saudization rates to operate in the Kingdom. Interestingly, this does not seem to prevent foreign companies’ ambitions:
– Sudair Pharma and Sanofi inaugurated an insulin plant, with a tech transfer from the French multinational.
– Spimaco and CansinoBio are working to localize the production of Menhycia, a meningococcal vaccine, in Saudi Arabia.
Will Saudi Arabia’s bet on human resources bear fruit?
This is a bold move, considering the timeframe to reach this goal. In the medium term, new talent will emerge from this infusion of skills in the Kingdom, most likely in the operational field.
José Moutinho – I am specialized in pharma competitive intelligence. Drop me a line if you want to build a successful CI strategy and get more insights from your monitoring.