LOGIC Consulting

  • Alumni
Contact Us

October 21, 2025

Thumb

Pharma Investment Map in the Middle East & Africa

The pharmaceutical landscape in the Middle East & Africa (MEA) has been on a durable growth trajectory, underpinned by three reinforcing dynamics: sustained investment in capacity and localization; and policy reforms improving transparency, pricing, and data interoperability, with the ambition to position MEA as an export hub by forging strategic, cross-border partnerships that leverage each country’s comparative strengths to accelerate localization, expand market access, and improve reliability of supply. The investment opportunities are thus wide open, but the question is how to sequence investments across manufacturing, specialty portfolios, digital health, and clinical development— while navigating country-specific pricing and regulatory dynamics.

I. MEA Pharma at a Glance – Market Overview

The MEA pharmaceutical market was valued at USD 35.3 billion in 2024, demonstrating a robust growth with a 15.0% Previous Period Growth (PPG) and a 11.2% CAGR— with Saudi Arabia leading at ~$13.2 billion (+16.1% PPG), the UAE following at ~$4.6 billion (+16.2% PPG) and Egypt at ~$4.4 billion (-4.8% PPG)1. While the market is projected to reach $42.42 billion by 2030, other forecasts suggest an even more ambitious trajectory, with the market potentially reaching $60 billion by 2025.

Demand Drivers

  • Population Ageing: Individuals aged 60+ are expected to account for 9.5% of the Arab region by 2030, rising to 15.1% by 2050, lifting pharmaceutical utilization per capita.
  • Chronic Disease Prevalence: MEA carries the highest regional diabetes prevalence globally (85 million in 2024), projected to grow 92%3 by 2050 (163 million), structurally expanding demand for chronic and specialty therapies.
  • Digitization & Telehealth: The MEA telehealth market stood at ~USD 4.5 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at 26.8%4 CAGR to 2030, underwritten by widespread smartphone connectivity and state-backed data platforms. The UAE leads with health information exchanges (HIE)—Riayati (federal), Malaffi (Abu Dhabi), and NABIDH (Dubai)—that interconnect providers and regulators, allowing for remote monitoring and data-driven care.

Related Articles

Contact Us

Brochure

II. Opportunity Landscape – Strategic Growth Themes in MEA Markets

A. Manufacturing & Localization

Manufacturing and localization in MEA constitute a coherent, investable thesis: an $15.2B potential revenue with 7.8% CAGR5 by 2030, where offtake agreements, local-content price preferences, and fast-track registrations are in place. Policy direction across leading markets is broadly aligned—import-substitution targets, procurement advantages for locally produced medicines, and predictable approval and pricing regimes, while port-adjacent industrial zones lower execution risk for inputs and exports.

Within this framework, Egypt’s SCZone is emerging as a credible base for contract manufacturing agreements (CMAs) and fill-finish of vaccines and specialty medicines—backed by concrete deals and logistics upgrades: VACSERA–Sinovac manufactures locally and is supported by a planned, fully automated vaccine cold store (capacity up to 150 mn doses), while Gypto Pharma has a strategic alliance with US-based Dawa Pharmaceuticals to produce for export and pursue US-FDA qualification. At the same time, Egypt is strengthening its role as a regional cold-chain logistics hub through EgyptAir Cargo’s renewal of IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Pharma certification, CACC Cargolinx’s CEIV-certified pharma terminal at Cairo International Airport, and DP World’s new USD 29 mn cold-storage development at Sokhna Logistics Park.

Saudi Arabia currently produces less than 30% of its medicines but aims to raise this to 40%6, narrowing the import gap. The SFDA has streamlined and digitized approval processes, cutting review times significantly versus the mid-2010s. Centralized procurement through NUPCO and local-content pricing incentives have strengthened the commercial appeal of domestic production. MODON supports investors with ready-built factories in hubs like Sudair and Jazan, reducing costs and setup time. Logistics upgrades—such as SAL’s pharma-grade cold-chain at Riyadh Airport and DP World–Mawani’s expansion of Jeddah Port with new cold storage—further de-risk pharmaceutical supply chains.

Key Investment Areas

  • Technology Transfer: Focus on high-volume generics and selected biosimilars.
  • Localized SKUs: Create product lines that combine procurement preference with fast-track registration.
  • Logistics Infrastructure: Leverage airport/port cold-chain investments and develop port-proximate API and fill finish clusters to compress set-up timelines, ensure temperature integrity for specialty products, and support export-oriented distribution.

Want To Read More?

You can download it and read it any time you want

Download Now