Galal made these remarks during the fourth edition of the Al-Ahram Foundation Pharmaceutical Conference, which kicked off on Saturday under the theme: “Facing Challenges and Promoting Innovation.

He added that Bayer will achieve its ambitions through establishing partnerships with major pharmaceutical manufacturers in Egypt.

Furthermore, Galal explained that Bayer Pharmaceuticals began serious steps more than four years ago to begin full manufacturing of some of its global products in the Middle East and Africa, particularly Egypt.  

He noted that Bayer’s recent move coincides with the Egyptian government’s vision to support the national pharmaceutical industry.

Similarly, Galal highlighted that Egypt is one of the few countries that has received approval from the parent company to manufacture its drugs. He attributed the approval to Egypt’s significant growth rates, skilled workforce, excellent logistic services, strategic location, and modern factories.

In addition, Galal pointed out that Egypt already manufactures and markets three of Bayer’s products. He highlighted that Bayer expects to manufacture Claritin tablets locally by the last quarter of 2024.  

Galal also stressed that Bayer is registering and manufacturing other drugs in Egypt and expects to begin marketing them by 2025.

Moreover, he pointed out that Egypt’s Bayer consumer health import bill dropped by $12 million annually due to the company's efforts.

This aligns with the state’s directives to reduce the import bill in foreign currency.

Challenges facing Egypt

Galal noted that Egypt faces challenges similar to those faced by many countries in the region, and despite making notable progress in localizing pharmaceutical manufacturing, Egypt must overcome some persisting obstacles.

For example, according to Galal, Egypt does not yet have factories for producing active and inactive ingredients, essential for drug production. Purchasing these inputs from abroad requires substantial amounts of foreign currency, not to say several months for them to arrive.

He noted that if Egypt could enter the field of producing active and inactive ingredients, it would be able to meet local market needs and export to neighbouring countries.

Therefore, Galal continued, Egypt could enhance its capacity to export medicines and increase its share in global markets by investing in advanced pharmaceutical technologies to ensure high product quality, implement global quality standards, and obtain international certifications and approvals.

Egypt would also collaborate with global inspection bodies to secure export approvals and improve logistics infrastructure.

Moreover, Galal stressed that Egypt should improve supply chains and distribution to ensure product quality. It should also establish international distribution centres in strategic locations and adhere to global environmental and health standards in production.

In addition, Galal indicated that the government should provide constant support through tax incentives, easy financing, and streamlined administrative and customs procedures to accelerate export processes.

Presidential initiaitves

Galal highlighted several presidential health initiatives to improve the quality of services provided to citizens, resulting in better health outcomes. He focused on several initiatives, including "Ending Surgical Waiting Lists," (which resulted in performing two million surgeries), and the "100 Million Health" initiative to eliminate hepatitis C and non-communicable diseases (which has provided screening services for approximately 60 million citizens and free treatment for about 2.2 million citizens).

Similarly, Galal highlighted the "Your Heart Matters" campaign, which equipped 401 clinics, trained over 5,000 healthcare providers, and provided over 200,000 boxes of aspirin to help prevent heart disease.

He pointed out that Bayer contributed EGP 20 million to support the latter campaign.

Furthermore, Galal spoke about other presidential initiatives, including those related to early detection of kidney disease, anaemia, obesity, and stunting in schoolchildren.

He also recalled initiatives concerned with maternal and fetal health, early hearing loss detection and treatment in children, and early cancer detection.

In addition, Galal pointed out women-related initiatives, particularly the "Supporting Egyptian Women" initiative and other initiatives relevant to improving reproductive health.

Similarly, Galal explained that the Egyptian state has worked tirelessly to achieve social justice, enhance equality, and improve citizens' living and economic conditions.

He added that the government has provided free medical services to citizens in remote areas lacking healthcare as part of the "Decent Life" initiative.

Private sector’s role

Galal emphasized that the private sector plays a crucial role in developing the pharmaceutical industry in Egypt, especially global companies, by providing Egypt with the latest products and modern drug manufacturing technologies.

The sector, he continued, also contributes to enhancing the skills of Egyptian professionals through training in the latest production and quality control techniques available worldwide.

Furthermore, Galal pointed out that Egypt's pharmaceutical sector presents an attractive opportunity for investors due to the growing demand for medicines, driven by population growth and increased health awareness.

International companies, he added, can benefit from Egypt’s strategic location as a platform to export medicines to African and Arab markets, especially after signing trade agreements.

Moreover, Galal said the increasing focus on public health and preventive care opens new investment avenues in pharmaceuticals.

He also stressed that partnerships between the private sector and the government strengthen the pharmaceutical industry by developing infrastructure, laboratories, and cooperation between universities and research centres.

These partnerships include accelerating drug approval processes, training programs for professionals, collaborating in disease control, and developing fair pricing policies.

Bayer’s crucial role

Galal stressed that the pharmaceutical sector in Egypt has seen significant developments thanks to the government's attention. The Egyptian Drug Authority, he added, applies global quality standards, making Egypt a leader in this field.

As part of Egypt's Vision 2030, he added, Bayer Global launched a project to localize pharmaceutical manufacturing in Egypt in cooperation with the government, transferring the technology for producing original medicines locally.

Bayer currently manufactures 40 percent of its health products in Egypt and aims to produce 80 percent of its consumer health products locally, Galal said, adding that the success of this project represents a step toward making Egypt an export hub for medicines in the Middle East and Africa.

Moreover, Galal emphasized that the cooperation between Bayer Global and local pharmaceutical factories in Egypt, under the supervision of the Egyptian Drug Authority, is a key player in developing the national pharmaceutical industry.

This is achieved, according to Galal, through the transfer of original drug manufacturing technology from Bayer’s global factories to Egyptian factories and exchanging global expertise in drug manufacturing, quality control, and quality assurance.

Digital healthcare, apps, and AI

Furthermore, Galal noted that digital applications for health and early diagnosis can significantly enhance access to healthcare, improve patient outcomes, and reduce costs, making it an essential part of the global healthcare future.

He said that this can be achieved through a wide range of applications and technologies aimed at enhancing healthcare, improving access to its services, and increasing the overall efficiency of the healthcare system.

These include creating digital medical data storage systems that facilitate tracking patient medical histories, improving communication between healthcare providers, and using smartphone applications that help people manage their health, such as tracking physical activity, managing diets, and monitoring chronic diseases, as Galal explained.

The VP further explained that artificial intelligence technologies are being used to improve disease diagnosis, offer treatment recommendations, and enhance the efficiency of healthcare operations. He highlighted that social media and websites can be used to spread health information and raise awareness about diseases and their prevention.

Galal added that digital health plays a vital role in Bayer’s consumer health strategy in the Middle East by improving access to health services and enhancing consumers' health and well-being.

These efforts are reflected in digital awareness campaigns such as "Your Heart Matters," which targets cardiovascular diseases in Egypt.

Bayer and Huma Therapeutics launched an innovative tool for detecting heart diseases. This tool is the first to be launched globally since Bayer announced Aspirin’s role in assessing heart disease risk in the United States.

Bayer, a global leader in healthcare, has strengthened its presence on local digital platforms to facilitate consumer access to its products while improving user experience through digital analytics.

Additionally, virtual support services have been made available through automated chatbots to offer health advice and respond to inquiries in the local language.

These initiatives support the primary objectives of Egypt’s national strategy. They also promote public health awareness and facilitate access to health information and products.

Galal also noted that Bayer has adopted a similar goal, expressed through the company's mission slogan, "Health for All, Hunger for None."

Thanks to its extensive experience in cardiovascular health, Bayer has developed comprehensive initiatives for preventing cardiovascular diseases, which contribute to providing solutions for maintaining a stable life for everyone.

“What has been achieved today is merely a first step toward realizing the company’s long-term global plans,” Galal said.

Bayer’s partnership with the "Huma" program, regulated as a medical device used for remote patient monitoring and associated application platforms, represents the only digital tool for cardiovascular disease diagnosis that holds EU quality certification, FDA approval, and registration with the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

The platform functions as a medical device using artificial intelligence algorithms.

Furthermore, Galal explained that adopting and implementing digital health technologies face several obstacles and challenges, including differing privacy and data protection laws and regulations from one country to another in the Middle East, complicating compliance, and increasing legal challenges.

He also noted that obtaining regulatory approvals for digital health devices and applications takes a long time, delaying adoption and that there is a lack of advanced technological infrastructure to support digital health applications and devices.

Galal predicted that the future of digital health would witness significant developments and transformations in how healthcare is delivered and how individual health is enhanced.

“Artificial intelligence and machine learning will play a crucial role in the field of digital health,” he concluded.