Highlights

The two sectors concerned by these ecosystems are the 'Medicine' industry and the sector of ‘medical devices' which cover the entire value chain of production of drugs and medical devices, from development to marketing.

During his speech at this occasion, the Minister of Economy and Finance invited the pharmaceutical sector operators, today represented by three associations, to join together in order to enable the Government to have a single contact point for the profession.

In a statement of the Ministry of Industry, Trade, Investment and the Digital Economy, issued at this signing ceremony, it was noted that eventually, the implementation of the ecosystems that have been initiated help create between 4700 and 5000 new direct jobs to generate high added value and an additional trade surplus respectively of nearly 4.2 and 7.8 billion dirhams and increase direct turnover of this sector of approximately 11,1millards dirhams.

The press release set up six accompanying measures for companies in the sector within the framework of the performance agreements signed, namely:

• The implementation of an FDI canvassing plan;
  
• The implementation of targeted regulatory measures;
  
• The introduction of measures to encourage local integration;
  
• Access to land through the provision of 8 hectares of land at competitive prices;
  
• The setting up of a training plan covering 100% ecosystem requirements;
  
• The introduction of priorities in public tenders.

The press release also stated that the pharmaceutical industry ecosystems are called on to reinforce the many strengths of the sector and to address the restrictions that still prevent full expansion, namely in particular its high dependence on imports, the limited size of the local market, the underutilization of medications production capacity, as well as the splitting up of the industry structure of medical devices, focusing mostly on low-value added materials.