HoldiPharma is enlisting the private sector to help localize production: State-owned pharma manufacturer HoldiPharma plans to build five new factories in partnership with private-sector firms, Asharq Business reports, citing three sources it says are close to the matter. The facilities will require around EGP 2.5 bn of investment and will produce up to 100 different types of raw materials for the pharma industry by 2025, the people said.

We have questions: It’s not clear what kind of partnerships HoldiPharma is looking to enter, or who it is looking to partner with.

Mystery Indian firm on board: HoldiPharma subsidiary El Nasr Pharma is reportedly in talks with “the largest” Indian pharma raw materials manufacturer to serve as a technical expert on the project, the sources reportedly said, without disclosing the identity of the firm.

Localizing the industry: The new factories could cover around 20% of domestic demand, helping to reduce the sector’s reliance on imports, the sources are quoted as saying. Each plant would have an annual production capacity of up to 70 tons.

Exports down the line? Raw materials produced by the factories could eventually be exported, according to Asharq’s sources. The government has identified pharma as one of nine sectors to focus on to increase exports to USD 100 bn a year in the next four years.

Where the money’s coming from: Some 60% of the investment will come from loans and the remainder will be “self-financed,” Asharq reports.

REMEMBER- The pharma sector has been grappling with the impactof import restrictions and the FX shortage. The industry has called for a reassessment of the government’s mandatory pricing scheme for certain meds and pharma products as supply chain issues and higher shipping rates delay manufacturing and raise production costs.

AND- HoldiPharma firms are up for partial privatization: Two subsidiaries of HoldiPharma have been earmarked forstake sales — Chemical Industries Development Company and Misr Pharma.News reports claimed in February that the companies could offer between 30-40% to investors by July — likely in an IPO on the EGX — with the holding company retaining a controlling interest.

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