Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia’s food, drug, medical devices, and equipment sectors are on track to prosper amid meetings with US healthcare firms to explore investment opportunities between the two countries.   

The Saudi Press Agency reported that the CEO of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, Hisham bin Saad Aljadhey, met with several officials from American companies on the sidelines of the 25th session of the International Medical Device Regulators Forum, being held in Washington DC, from March 11 to 15.   

This falls in line with SFDA’s endeavor to enhance funding opportunities as well as engage in the know-how dynamics of the industry and the challenges facing investors and the business community.

This also aligns well with the organization’s mission to safeguard public health by guaranteeing the protection, quality, and efficacy, as well as the accessibility, of both human and veterinary medicines and vital products.

They also tackled the organization’s support of the private sector in light of the promising development prospects available in the Kingdom, primarily those related to the localization of the drug and pharmaceutical industries as well as food safety and genetics technologies sectors.

In February, Saudi healthcare saw an advancement in medical interventions after US-based Johnson & Johnson’s technology firm, J&J MedTech KSA, launched its direct operations in the Kingdom.    

The company aims to bring customers closer to a more streamlined experience as it provides high-tech medical and surgical equipment, according to a statement released at the time.    

The move aligns with the firm’s commitment to enhancing medical interventions and improving clinical outcomes and reflects the company’s ongoing investment in the future of Saudi healthcare, it added.    

Drug production in the Kingdom is also set for enhancement following the signing of four agreements in January to foster partnerships between Saudi Arabia’s public and private sectors.     

The Local Content and Government Procurement Authority signed the deals for the localization of industry and knowledge transfer, SPA reported.   

The agreements were “based on the principle of cooperation and integration to enhance health and pharmaceutical security and development” in Saudi Arabia, the authority said.