Pharmaceutical industry in Egypt at risk

Egypt\'s pharmaceutical industry, the second largest strategic industry in the country with a 18\\% annual growth rate, is in a great jeopardy unless the government took immediate measures to address hurdles threatening the availability of local-made drugs, a Federation of Egyptian Industries official said on Sunday. Pharmaceutical companies are facing many hurdles, including the inability of around 80 under-construction factories to get needed registration for new pharmceuticals, lack of hard currency to buy raw materials for drugs and the increase of water price - a main component in the pharmaceutical industry, Mohi Hafez, head of the FEI Pharmaceutical Industries Departmenat, told MENA. He expressed hope that the Health Ministry would open the door for registration of new pharmceutical drugs or else many factories would be shut down. Having new pharmaceutical factories is very important, he said, noting that the establishment of each plant costs between 100 to 1560 million pounds and that it provides 8,000 jobs. That\'s why the door should be open for registration of new medicines, he added.