At Al-Ahram Conference for Medicine... Dr. El-Metini: The pharmaceutical industry affects national security, and the Corona pandemic stressed the need to pay attention to it

The second annual "Al-Ahram" conference for medicine was launched on the localization of the pharmaceutical industry in Egypt, in the presence of the Ministers of Higher Education and Finance, Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Metini, President of Ain Shams University and President of the Conference, Prof. Dr. Abdel Mohsen Salama, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al-Ahram Foundation, Prof. Dr. Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din, Advisor to the President of the Republic for Health Affairs, a. Dr. Amani Osama, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Prof. Dr. Hisham Al-Ghazali, Professor of Oncology, Prof. Dr. Samia Abdo, Deputy Director of Hospitals, Ain Shams University and Head of the Infection Control Unit, Prof. Dr. Maha Farouk, former Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Prof. Dr. Khaled Abu Shanab, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy for Postgraduate Studies and Research, Prof. Dr. Rehab Othman Ahmed, Vice Dean for Education and Student Affairs, Prof. Dr. Rola Milad Labib, Vice Dean for Community Service and Environmental Development, and a group of pharmaceutical and pharmacy industry men.

Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Metini, President of Ain Shams University and President of Al-Ahram Conference for Medicine, explained that the pharmaceutical industry in Egypt affects the Egyptian national security, stressing the importance of this sector in advancing the Egyptian industry and economy to a position worthy of its cadres and capabilities.

El-Matini praised the Prime Minister's generous sponsorship of the conference, and the participation of all those interested in the pharmaceutical industry and trade represented in the Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry and Commerce, the Drug Export Council and all local and international drug companies in full coordination with the institutions of the academic community and scientific pharmaceutical research, all in order to provide effective and safe medicine for all Egyptians to ensure The best health status to achieve the sustainable development goals of the United Nations and in line with Egypt’s Vision 203.

The head of the second Al-Ahram Conference for Medicine said that Al-Ahram Foundation realized that the pharmaceutical industry in Egypt affects the Egyptian national security, adding that the first conference discussed the challenges of the pharmaceutical industry between the concerned authorities and those in charge of the medicine industry, and many of its recommendations were implemented, such as more flexible drug registration and pricing decisions, and the Clinical Trials Act in late 2020.

He stressed that Egypt represents a promising market for the pharmaceutical industry, especially with regard to new and innovative medicines, for several reasons, including the existence of infrastructure for nearly a hundred years in Egypt, represented by 159 licensed factories, 80 others under establishment, and a large number of manufacturers with third parties, and also with a sales volume approaching about 40 billion pounds in the first half of 2021 with a growth rate of 7%, and the volume of exports amounting to more than 250 million dollars, with the presence of colleges of pharmacy among the top 5 colleges in Africa, and the best 150 colleges of pharmacy in the world, in addition to research centers full of cadres and research competencies It is ready to seriously participate in advanced basic scientific research in order to enhance its partnership with the industrial scientific community to invent new medicines, and directs the state to implement the comprehensive health insurance program with the aim of promoting public health in Egypt and providing distinguished health care for all citizens, and establishing many entities to control and regulate the drug industry and control purchases trading and marketing such as the Egyptian Medicine Authority and the Unified Procurement Authority are independent entities and the establishment of the Egyptian Medicine City as one of the most important national projects that possesses modern technological and industrial capacity And contribute to attracting investments, in addition to the issuance of the clinical trials law, which will encourage and attract more such experiments to Egypt.

El-Metini added that despite all these advantages, the pharmaceutical industry is completely dependent on the import of active pharmaceutical ingredients and raw materials, which is what appeared during the Corona pandemic, as Egypt witnessed a decrease in medicines and pharmaceutical products by 15.4%, which makes us strive to localize the pharmaceutical industry with all components and the highest Possible ratios such as manufacturing raw materials locally, and acquiring advanced technology to develop medicines and vaccines in order to localize advanced technologies.