Algeria has achieved remarkable development in the field of pharmaceutical production

Algeria has achieved remarkable development in the field of pharmaceutical production in recent years, with the rate of self-sufficiency in the needs of the national market reaching 83 percent.

In this context, the Quality Management Officer at the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Materials, Dr. Khadija Bougherra, confirmed in Al-Qanaa’s first radio statements that this progress comes as an embodiment of the directives of the President of the Republic aimed at achieving pharmaceutical sovereignty and enhancing health security, a vision that was reinforced by the establishment of the Ministry of Pharmaceutical Industry in 2020, in addition to the entry into service of the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Materials in the same year.

In presenting the sector’s statistics, the official revealed that Algeria currently counts 233 pharmaceutical production units and factories, in addition to the Ministry of Pharmaceutical Industry’s approval of granting licenses to complete 100 new projects under implementation, which represents a third of the pharmaceutical factories present on the African continent.

She also pointed out that Algeria has more than 780 production lines for various types of medicines, including complex medicines, stressing that the country is the only country in Africa and the Arab world that produces insulin pens 100 percent locally, in addition to manufacturing about 54 types of cancer treatment medicines out of about 200 medicines registered within the national code for combating the disease.

Bougherra expected that the licenses granted to implement new projects to produce medicines would have a positive impact on the labor market, especially with the registration of projects to produce innovative medicines, in addition to a project to establish a center for biological research and vaccine production.

She also talked about a new project with the “Sidal Complex” in the field of cell therapy, which would enhance job opportunities and support innovation in the national pharmaceutical industry.

In a related context, Bougherra revealed that Algeria received a delegation of World Health Organization experts on a field visit to evaluate and track the draft national regulatory system adopted in the field of drug production, as part of an effort to obtain the third maturity level within the capabilities maturity model of the national regulatory system.

She explained that this system includes four actors: the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Pharmaceutical Industry, the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Materials, and the National Center for Pharmacovigilance, where a self-evaluation was conducted last June, followed by the issuance of more than 430 recommendations from the World Health Organization covering nine basic regulatory functions, including registration, vigilance, inspection, and clinical trials.

She added that the goal is to complete the implementation of these recommendations before passing through the official evaluation to obtain the third maturity level, which will allow the national regulatory system to become more effective and stable, open the way for international recognition, and enhance opportunities for partnerships and exports.