UAE Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are increasingly investing in healthcare and the life sciences to reinforce their local industries and pursue the region’s economic diversification goals. Following the Saudi fund PIF’s launch of CDMO Lifera and Qatar’s QIA biotech investments, the UAE fund ADQ…

Saudi Arabia Halal pharmaceuticals, or medicines produced according to Islamic dietary laws, presented a global market worth some USD 100 billion in 2019, yet much of halal pharmaceuticals’ potential remains untapped. In conversation with PharmaBoardroom, Mazen M. Hassanain, co-founder and managing director of SaudiVax, a pioneer in halal vaccines, discusses the development…

Africa Writing in the February 2024 edition of the DIA Global Forum magazine, Verena Pfaffinger and Ilona Baraniak-Lang of PharmaLex examine how the drug shortages seen in the global south during and after the COVID-19 pandemic can best be overcome through the adoption of decentralised manufacturing.   The COVID-19 pandemic exposed…

Saudi Arabia As the GCC’s largest market, Saudi Arabia, with its growing population, strong healthcare infrastructure and government commitment to developing the economy beyond oil through its Vision 2030, is increasingly attractive for multinational pharma and local players alike. In 2024 government reforms will continue to encourage investment and local production while…

Turkey A roundup of the biggest pharma and healthcare stories from Turkey including the investigation of 19 pharma companies by the country’s competition watchdog; Gen Pharma Caucasus Manufacturing’s new plant in Azerbaijan; drug shortages resulting from a newly adopted currency-indexed medication supply system, and the surge in upper respiratory tract infections…

Morocco Morocco is currently implementing the most ambitious, far-reaching, and comprehensive health system reorganizations in its history. “What sets this reform apart from all that has happened before is just how starkly it differs in spirit from previous incremental and piecemeal initiatives that have been attempted over the decades,” proudly asserts…

MENA With a healthcare system marked by both progress and difficulties due to the country’s economic overreliance on the oil and gas sector and its recent political instability, Algeria, is the second largest pharma market on the African continent. Recent reforms have also sped up drug approvals and are turning the…

Global Tremendous strides have been made in both treatment and prevention of AIDS and it is no longer among the 10 leading causes of death globally, however an estimated 39 million people were living with the disease globally in 2022. HIV treatments has become more manageable and are reaching more patients…

UAE Long considered a destination of choice for life science multinationals seeking to tap into the latent potential of Middle Eastern markets, the United Arab Emirates’ pharmaceuticals, medtech and healthcare sectors have all been exhibiting significant growth momentum in the post-pandemic period.   “Thanks to its comparatively attractive operating environment and…

UAE A charismatic force at the forefront of the country’s health transformation efforts, Dr Amin Al Amiri currently serves as assistant undersecretary at the UAE Ministry of Health as well as chairman of the UAE Supreme National Blood Transfusion Committee. In conversation earlier this year at BIO2023, Dr Al Amiri touched…

South Africa Dr Benji Pretorius, the founder of Erada Technology Alliance and a malaria survivor himself, shares his insights into why the development of a truly effective malaria vaccine will only succeed in combating the world’s number one killer if it is integral to a ubiquitous, efficacious diagnostic programme.   Malaria, a…

UAE Drawing on a quarter of a century of pharmaceutical industry experience, over 20 years of which has been spent in the UAE, Ayman Mokhtar today heads up Middle East, North Africa and Eurasia operations for Viatris. A global healthcare company with a broad range of products, Viatris is continually working…