Egypt's PM reviews efforts to support local pharmaceutical industry
The meeting was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister for Human Development and Minister of Health and Population, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, the Minister of Finance, Ahmed Kouchouk, and the heads of the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) and the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement (UPA).
Madbouly affirmed the government's interest in providing all necessary support for the growth and localisation of this vital industry. He noted that Egypt has a long history in pharmaceuticals, with large industrial facilities, and possesses promising advantages for further progress, including a large domestic market and access to nearby regional markets.
During the meeting, EDA Chairman Ali El-Ghamrawy presented a report on the state of the industry. He stated that the sector is nationally stable and has achieved significant jumps in local market sales in 2024 compared to 2023, with positive expectations for continued growth in 2025.
El-Ghamrawy confirmed that there is a secure level of coverage for various therapeutic groups, including hormones, cardiovascular drugs, oncology products, and corticosteroids. He also assured that there is a safe strategic stock of pharmaceutical raw materials, sufficient for three to six months.
The EDA chairman highlighted the growth of foreign companies in the Egyptian market, noting that their sales in 2024 saw a 43% increase compared to 2023. He attributed this progress to several measures taken by the EDA to attract international firms, including monitoring modern and innovative products, a reference-based registration process that reduces approval times from two years to as little as two months, a unified electronic registration system, and support for localisation projects.
El-Ghamrawy also noted that the EDA provides about 979 essential regulatory services to support the pharmaceutical industry and has not increased the fees for these services in the past two years.
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