Saudi PIF sets up new company to manufacture lifesaving drugs
RIYADH, June 19, 2023
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF (The Public Investment Fund) has set up a new investment company Lifera that will focus on manufacturing life-saving drugs including insulins, vaccines, plasma therapeutics, monoclonal antibodies, cell and gene therapies, and innovative small molecules.
The Saudi PIF move is mainly aimed at boosting the growth of the local biopharmaceutical industry, strengthen national resilience as well as support Saudi Arabia’s position as a global pharmaceutical manufacturing destination.
A commercial-scale contract development and manufacturing organization, Lifera will create partnerships with leading local and international companies and attract targeted investments in order to grow local capacity and drive the development of domestic manufacturing in this sector.
The global healthcare market is expected to develop rapidly over the next decade with innovation in medicines and therapies, advances in precision medicine, genomics and the wide range of treatment modalities available.
According to PIF, Lifera will aim to drive formulation development, medicine development and manufacturing, as well as testing services for sterile pharmaceutical products.
These high-value services play a key role in helping improve access to, and the security of, therapies that address pressing healthcare needs of the Saudi and global population, it added.
PIF Deputy Governor and Head of Mena Investments Yazeed bin Abdulrahman Al Humied said: "We are investing to enable a leading health sector in Saudi Arabia, supporting the development of and access to advanced medicines and treatments. Biologics represents one of the most critical and fastest-growing pharmaceutical segments, both in Saudi Arabia and globally."
"Lifera intends to partner with leading companies in the sector to localize manufacturing, attract investment and enable the private sector to scale up, ensuring easier access for patients, whilst securing supply of life-saving medicines that can meet local, regional and global demand," he stated.
Through strategic investments, PIF aspires to be a vital enabler acting as a catalyst to innovate and enhance the healthcare eco-system, whilst creating significant opportunities for the domestic private sector, noted Al Humied.
In its efforts to enable the supply chain of medicines, PIF said it has also invested in the National Unified Procurement Company (Nupco), the leading provider of medical procurement, storage, and distribution services for medicines, devices and medical supplies to the Saudi healthcare sector.
Since 2017, PIF has established 79 companies across its 13 strategic sectors, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
