The State’s objective is to reduce the import bill and ensure the total availability of products.
Reducing the import bill for pharmaceutical products is one of the priorities of the Algerian state which it aims to achieve through the emergence of national production.
In this perspective and during his visit to the wilaya of Oum El Bouaghi, Wednesday August 30, the Minister of Industry and Pharmaceutical Production, Ali Aoun, called on all private investors โto increase the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products with the aim of reducing the import bill.
Moreover, during a stop at the pharmaceutical company Biomest, specializing in the production of medical reagents, pharmaceutical products and ready-to-use culture media intended for hospitals and laboratories, Ali Aoun urged those responsible of this unit to exploit all available production capacities, adopting the 3x8h production system. The objective is above all to help satisfy national demand.
The minister did not fail to praise this type of investment project, knowing that the factory is entirely Algerian, operating with Italian technologies. Its production capacity is estimated at 4.5 million units per year, for an investment of 700 million Algerian dinars and 48 jobs.
The factory is also equipped with equipment that meets international standards. According to the official website of the Ministry of Industry, this will allow โthe company to offer quality products exportable to foreign marketsโ. Concerning the production of anti-cancer treatment, Mr. Aoun inaugurated the Dรฉmocรฉdรจs Pharma anti-cancer drug production unit located in Aรฏn M’lila.
The production of the unit in question is complete (full process) with high added value, with a range that includes the most prescribed drugs, including cytotoxics, targeted treatments and hormonal treatments, in accordance with international standards for an investment of 80 million euros. This new unit includes 4 production lines for anticancer drugs, in the form of solid doses (tablets and capsules) and liquids (liquid vials and freeze-dried vials).
The average annual production capacity is estimated at 60 million units per year for tablets and capsules. As for freeze-dried injections, production is 2.7 million units per year. Mr. Aoun invited those responsible for this unit to register as many drugs as possible in 2025 to supply central pharmacies, knowing that multiple shortages and disruptions are recorded for anti-cancer drugs, having harmful consequences for patients.
A budget of nearly 1.2 billion euros
As a reminder, in 2022 the budget allocated by the Public Treasury to the Central Hospital Pharmacy (PCH) was estimated at nearly 1.2 billion euros per year, while 60% of this budget was devoted to the acquisition of anti-cancer drugs and treatments for rare diseases. Note that during his visit to the unit specializing in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products and medical supplies belonging to the private company IMGSA, Ali Aoun laid the first stone of the construction project of a production unit of raw materials for the manufacture of paracetamol, with a capacity of approximately 1000 tonnes per year. It is one of the largest aimed at producing raw materials used in the production of medicines.
Ali Aoun also inaugurated a production unit for anti-cancer drugs, with an annual capacity of 1 million boxes. โThe IMGSA company is one of the first to have entered the market for the production of anticancer drugs, which is an activity subject to high precision technologies. This factory will make it possible to meet the growing demand for these drugs,โ it is emphasized on the official website of the ministry.
The minister laid the foundation stone of a medical glove factory for export and oversaw the launch of the export of a shipment of 1.5 million units of medical and surgical gloves to Mauritania, after signing a partnership agreement with the same country.