Muscat: The Ministry of Health (MoI) affirmed it is seeking to localize and encourage investing in drug manufacturing to localize the industry and attain pharmaceutical security. The aim is to set up a number of pharmaceutical factories with a view to minimizing reliance on imported medicines that presently makes up 90 per cent. The MoI plans to produce 30 per cent of the country’s needs for medicines from domestic production over the decade as well as boosting the state’s reserve of vital medicines and medical supplies as well as finding other alternatives to provide medicines in emergencies or disruption of global supply chains.
This was stated by Ibrahim bin Nasser al Rashdi, Director-General of Medical Supplies at the Ministry of Health in an interview with Oman Arabic newspaper in which he explained the ministry’s efforts to achieve medicine security and boost the drug stock. The Sultanate of Oman was among the first countries in the region to build a stock of vital medicines and medical supplies since the beginning of the 1980s to confront emergencies, ward off the impact of epidemics.
Asked whether the Sultanate of Oman is likely to see a medicine shortage and how to rapidly response to the population’s increasing need for medicines, Al Rashdi said that the Directorate-General of Medical Supplies is making great efforts to meet the needs of 280 health institutions including referral hospitals, health complexes and health centres for some 12,000 types of medicines and medical materials. In the event of a greater unexpected increase in consumption or in the event of a delay or disruption of supplies due to issues with global production, the state’s reserve fills the shortage. Other possible solutions are to use the alternatives available in hospitals, or provide alternative stock through urgent direct purchase from the UK or India.
Presently, there are three pharmaceutical factories in the Sultanate of Oman which cover 10 per cent of the country’s needs while other pharmaceutical factories are under construction. Medical intravenous solution factories will be inaugurated this year in the wilayat of Salalah and Nizwa while a third factory has entered the operation phase in Khazaen in the Wilayat of Barka. Many investors have expressed their desire to set up pharmaceutical factories. Efforts are underway to attract international investments to establish factories in the Sultanate of Oman. There are factories in Salalah and Muscat that produce medicines for some diseases and the ministry is working to attract factories for biological medicines production. Another project in the operation phase is the Menagen Pharmaceutical Industries Factory project in Rusayl. It is one of the leading factories in the Middle East region specializing in medicines for chronic and rare diseases, the official said.
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