Riyadh, November 19, 2023: An agreement was signed today at the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources between Dammam Pharma, 85% owned by Spimaco, and MSD to manufacture type 2 diabetes medication in the Kingdom.
Production of this medication will start in the first quarter of 2024. It is expected to meet the entire demand for these medicines in the Kingdom. This will be the first factory in the Middle East and North Africa to produce this type of medicine, and the goal is to also export it to regional markets.
General Manager of MSD in the Kingdom Abdallah Nabil said that the agreement is a significant step toward localizing pharmaceutical industries, adding that the project aligns with the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to increase local production.
Nabil said that the pharmaceutical market in the Kingdom currently amounts to approximately SAR34 billion; it is expected to reach SAR40 billion by 2030.
The project, he added, will provide opportunities to transfer highly specialized pharmaceutical technologies to the Kingdom and create new scope for investment. It will also create new employment opportunities in the labor market.
Spimaco Pharmaceuticals CEO Jerome Cabannes said that this partnership reaffirms the company’s commitment to providing advanced specialized treatments, on par with the highest international standards, in the Kingdom, adding that the local manufacturing of MSD medication for diabetes constitutes an important step toward transferring and localizing pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies in the Kingdom.
Cabannes said that 17.7% of adults in the Kingdom have diabetes, which places the country second in the Middle East and seventh in the world in terms of prevalence of diabetes, according to the World Health Organization.
Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef was present at the signing ceremony.
