Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Industry and Mineral Resources minister announced the launch of a number of investment opportunities in the vaccines and vital medicines industry, with a value of $3.4 billion, to make the Kingdom an important centre for this sector, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
In a statement issued on Friday, the minister Bandar Alkhorayef said the move is part of the Kingdom’s push toward achieving pharmaceutical security and making Saudi Arabia a more prominent hub for the sector.
The investments will be enacted in two phases:
- The first phase valued at over $5 billion, will focus on localising basic children’s vaccines and building the necessary self-capacities and manufacturing platforms to combat future pandemics.
- The second phase will focus on localising immunological and cancer treatment technologies. This sector is worth more than $2 billion annually.
It is expected that these measures will contribute to building the Kingdom’s own capabilities and reduce the import of vaccines and vital pharmaceutical products by 100 percent currently.