Vision 2030 sets an ambitious plan to localize medicines and vaccines in Saudi Arabia. Where are we on this ambition?
From the official list that we can find on the Local Content & Government Procurement Authority, there are 192 medicines and vaccines that authorities wish to manufacture locally. So far, Saudi companies have managed to produce locally 18 medicines of the list, all of them being generic versions.
Saudi Arabia can rely on its local generic makers, to fend off its dependency on imports. Companies involved in this process are Avalon, Pharmaceutical Solutions Industries, Alpha Pharma, Tabuk, Jamjoom, Jazeera Pharmaceuticals and Riyadh Pharmaceuticals.
Here are some of the recent actions taken by the main actors of the industry:
· During Q4 2024, a generic version of posaconazole, Posenox, made by Tabuk Pharmaceuticals has been approved by SFDA.
· KSA’s ambitions go beyond this list. The Local Content and Government Procurement Authority has initiated a deal between Jamjoom and MSD to transfer technology on Januvia (sitagliptin phosphate). Jamjoom’s Sitagen has effectively been approved by SFDA with local manufacturing. Another deal involves Ticagrelor, with AJA and Saudi Arabian Japanese Co.
Biologicals and vaccines, the next frontier
To fulfil KSA’s ambitions, the LCGPA must stride towards the acquisition of technology in biologicals. As of today, the only biologicals made in the country are Endosa (Enoxaparin Sodium), Recormon (Epoetin Beta) and snake antivenoms. Spimaco and the National Antivenom and Vaccine Production Center being in capacity to produce such biologicals.
Meanwhile, the recent deals on insulin and vaccines set a path forward in the acquisition of technologies. Recent announcements from Sanofi confirm that there are ongoing ambitions within Vision 2030. “There is a willingness here to do something bold and pioneering to localize things like manufacturing”, says Paul Hudson in a talk with Forbes Middle-East.
Other deals suggest that KSA is in working order to build production capacity. Jordan-based MS Pharma has signed with the LCGPA to localize ranibizumab in its Saudi Arabia state-of-art facility, the only of this kind in the Middle-East. Avalon Pharma has announced plans to invest SAR 100 million in new factories over the next five years, seeking to double its sales in the domestic market.
The LCGPA agreements seem slow to take off, but we see promising developments that go in the right sense: the localization of strategic biologicals. Foreign companies are keen on being involved in this process, due to the favorable environment put in place in Saudi Arabia. Things can evolve very quickly in this market, and we will keep you posted on the future developments.
José Moutinho