Industry Ministry aims to localize 200 specific medicines

Bandar Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources

Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Alkhorayef, stated that the ministry identified around 200 medicines whose domestic production is a priority for the Kingdom due to their critical importance in achieving pharmaceutical security. He added that actual steps have begun to localize the production of 42 of these medicines, in collaboration with both public and private sectors.

During his participation in a panel discussion at the Global Health Exhibition, Alkhorayef said that the Kingdom is moving forward to become a central hub for the pharmaceutical and vaccine industries in the region through effective partnerships it has established with leading global pharmaceutical companies.

He added that the number of pharmaceutical and medical equipment factories in the Kingdom grew by 25% in recent years. The number of medical equipment factories surged from 54 to 150, and pharmaceutical factories grew from 42 to 56 between 2019 and 2023, with a total value exceeding $10 billion. This growth has been driven by the sector’s adoption of the latest manufacturing technologies.