Saudi Arabia Mostafa Abdelrahman, General Manager of Lilly Saudi Arabia, discusses the company’s evolution from medicine supplier to healthcare partner, supporting Vision 2030 through innovation, public-private collaboration and localisation. He highlights advances in obesity, Alzheimer’s disease and oncology, alongside technology transfer, clinical research and talent development, while outlining priorities to expand patient…
MEA Once regarded as a strategic afterthought by international biopharma, the Middle East has undergone a profound transformation in recent years, emerging as an early adopter of next-generation therapies for rare diseases. Regional regulatory authorities are accelerating approval timelines, reflecting an aggressive institutional ambition to secure speedy access to cutting-edge medical…
MEA A quarter-century after the Human Genome Project revolutionized biology, genomic sequencing has matured from an ambitious scientific frontier into an indispensable clinical reality. Today, molecular insights routinely guide everything from targeted oncology to rare disease diagnostics. Yet, this genomic revolution harbours a profound systemic bias: nearly 90 percent of all…
MEA Long regarded as a clinical trials backwater, the Middle East has experienced a tremendous surge in clinical research over the past five years. This boom is fuelled by a global demand for representational equity and an urgent need to correct a stark imbalance, as Middle Eastern populations currently account for…
MEA After years of foundational investment in genomics, population screening, and rare disease diagnostics, Gulf nations are entering a transformative era: the delivery of advanced therapeutics. The cell and gene therapy (CGT) landscape within the GCC has fundamentally shifted from importing foreign cures to establishing localized, highly sophisticated manufacturing and clinical…
MEA Hisham Hagar is the executive country manager for Vertex Pharmaceuticals across the Gulf Cooperation Council, leading efforts to expand access to genetic therapies and strengthen healthcare partnerships in the region. With over two decades of experience in the Middle East, he oversees the company’s Riyadh Gulf regional headquarters and discusses…
Saudi Arabia Dr Abdulrazaq S. Al-Jazairi, Director of Clinical Trial Transformation at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, has spent more than 30 years at the institution. Trained as a cardiology clinical pharmacist, with a doctorate from North Carolina, general residency at Duke University, and cardiovascular pharmacotherapy at Philadelphia College of…
MEA Khaled Elrefae of Recordati Rare Diseases discusses how the company is expanding its rare disease footprint across Saudi Arabia, the GCC, and the wider MENA region. He highlights the region’s high unmet medical needs, the strategic steps taken to accelerate product launches, and the role of partnerships, diagnostics, and genomics…
MEA For decades, the Middle East has faced a disproportionately high burden of rare genetic disorders, fuelled both by deep-rooted cultural practices and an overreliance on Western genomic data. Fast forward to 2026, and massive genome projects across the Gulf region are attempting to shift the narrative. Backed by immense sovereign…
Global 2025 was a year of volatility for pharma and healthcare. In particular, the speed with which the administration of Donald Trump makes (and often then changes) consequential policy decisions has left industry stakeholders in the US and globally scrambling to fall in line. There are already clear winners and losers…
MEA Some of the top recent stories from pharma and healthcare in the Middle East and Africa, including Saudi Arabia’s pharma pitch to US investors, a new fund to bring forward Saudi biotechs, Egypt’s collaboration with Turkey on pharma manufacturing, and China’s ‘health silk road’ in Africa. Saudi Arabia pitches…
Pharma Legal Handbook 1.Please make a general introduction to the public health sector in your country and its organization Saudi Arabia provides universal health coverage primarily funded by the government through a tax-based model. The healthcare system is organized in a tiered structure led by the Ministry of Health (MOH), which operates: •…
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