EVA Pharma to invest SAR 450 mln in research, manufacturing complex: MD

Riad Armanious, MD of EVA Pharma

EVA Pharma plans to build a pharmaceutical research and manufacturing complex consisting of five factories and a research center in Sudair, with investments exceeding SAR 450 million, Managing Director Riad Armanious told Argaam in an interview.

The company aims to lay the foundation stone for the project and start construction before the end of 2023.  

It intends to develop local content and participate in the localization of pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, with the support of the Saudi government, in order to achieve the Kingdom's target of increasing the production of local pharmaceutical products from 30% to 65% by 2030.  

"By 2030, we aspire for EVA Pharma to be one of the top three pharmaceutical companies in the Saudi market. We seek to acquire 6% of the market share in the pharmaceutical sector, with revenues projected at more than $1.2 billion," Armanious said. 

Armanious also underlined Saudi healthcare and pharmaceutical sector's strong growth potential, since it is the largest market in the Middle East and Africa. The sector is expected to reach $11.3 billion by the end of 2023 and is projected to grow at a rate of 9% over the next 10 years, reaching $20 billion in 2030.

Several factors make the Saudi pharma market attractive for growth and investment, including a large youth population, which, over the years, will naturally lead to increased demand for healthcare and pharmaceuticals, Armanious said.  

Additionally, government investments in healthcare, in partnership with the private sector, support various initiatives in the sector and the construction of more hospitals.

Commercial production at three factories in the research and manufacturing complex is likely to begin mid-2025, for biologics medicines, diabetes capsules, psychiatry and neurological drugs as well as personal care products. 

The remaining two factories, for veterinary vaccines, immunization and oncology drugs, are expected to be complete in 2026. The complex will also include a research and development (R&D) center. 

The complex is projected to produce more than 990 million pharmaceutical units annually and create more than 800 direct jobs. 

The company submitted its project studies to the Ministry of Industry, and hopes to obtain 70% of the complex finance from the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF). The remaining funding will come from local bank loans.  

"We expect it to be easy for us to obtain financing due to the project's importance and national and economic viability," Armanious said. 

He also announced the establishment of Saudi EVA Pharma, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Eva Holding Group. "We aim to offer part of the company's shares on the Saudi Exchange. We believe that partnership with Saudi investors is the best partnership. We expect the company to be listed in 2027 or 2028,” he said.