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2022-06-29| FundingR&D

Saudi Arabia to Invest $3.4 Billion in Latest Push to Develop Biotechnology Presence

by Reed Slater
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The Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef, announced through the state-sponsored Saudi Press Agency on June 24 that Saudi Arabia will invest $3.4 billion in vaccines and vital medicines to expand the nation’s medical industry as a regional hub for biotech development. The most recent bid to develop a more self-sufficient medical industry comes after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the details of Saudi Vision 2030, which intends to reduce Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil and grow various industries to provide for the Middle Eastern nation. 

Related Article: China’s Hansoh Teams Up with Middle East Onco-Collaborator

 

Saudi Arabia’s Plan to Invest in Phases

 

According to Alkhorayef, the hefty $3.4 billion investment will come in two phases. The first phase will focus on localizing essential children’s vaccine production and building the necessary framework for future pandemic prevention. Saudi Arabia currently imports 100% of vaccines and vital pharmaceutical products, which it hopes to shift to become more self-reliant. 

The first phase will also include an initiative to manufacture insulin to treat diabetes and develop plasma collection centers to achieve self-sufficiency in plasma derivatives. Saudi Arabia has the second-highest rate of diabetes in the Middle East, with approximately 7 million people diagnosed with diabetes and 3 million with pre-diabetes. 

The second phase of the investment will focus on localizing immunological and immuno-oncological treatment technologies. Cancer rates are growing worldwide, and Saudi Arabia is no exception. In 2018, there were 10,518 recorded cancer deaths in the country that historically has an inconsistent cancer registry system. Developing an industry to administer more effective cancer treatments will be essential to Saudi Arabia’s biotech development ambitions. 

As part of the effort to develop a biotech presence, Saudi Arabia formed the Manufacturing Vaccines and Vital Medicines Committee in March to build strategies regarding vaccine manufacturing practices and standards. Alkhorayef will also chair this committee to build regulatory procedures concerning the construction of vaccine and vital medicine manufacturing sites from the ground up. 

Related article: EQT and Mubadala to Acquire Envirotainer in $3 Billion Deal

 

Small Part Of A Bigger Plan

 

The most recent investment in the medical sector in Saudia Arabia spawned from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Saudi Vision 2030, a plan to grow the nation to be a cultural and economic hub of Arab and Islamic countries with less dependence on oil. 

Saudi Arabia has desired to decrease oil dependence for several decades, and growing a larger medical and biotechnology presence has long been part of that discussion. The King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC) was established in 2006 to advance Saudi Arabian biotechnology research and development. Though it was not named in the most recent investment announcement, KAIMRC will likely have a significant role in the future development of Saudi Arabia’s biotech industry. 

In September 2021, KAIMRC hosted its 12th annual Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit, fortifying its intention to expand biotechnology development in Saudi Arabia. At the summit, the Executive Director of KAIMRC, Dr. Ahmed Alaskar, said in a self-published article with Nature that his organization will help launch the Riyadh Roadmap of Medical vaccine development in line with Salman’s Saudi Vision 2030. 

The details of the Riyadh Roadmap of Medical vaccine development are unclear. Still, Alaskar said KAIMRC is working to make crucial connections with biotech industry leaders to transfer and localize knowledge to apply to the country’s budding industry. 

Saudi Arabia’s investment of $3.4 billion is a big step forward for the nation’s ambitions to develop a self-sustaining biotech industry. With that said, it still has a long road ahead to compete with the likes of Westernized nations whose biotech industries are home to companies that generate tens of billions of dollars each year.

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