AstraZeneca doubled its capital in Egypt in 2023 and injected investments amounting to $50 million over the past four years, country president Hatem Werdany on Sunday. During a press conference ahead of signing an agreement with the Egyptian Ministry of Health, Werdany said such moves align with the state's plan to consolidate the pharmaceutical industry and AstraZeneca's aspiration to locally manufacture 80 per cent of its products. Werdany added that AstraZeneca's commitment to improving healthcare in Egypt had been evident for decades, which is further demonstrated by the company's factory, established in 2006 in the city of October 6th, that aims to support local manufacturing, create job opportunities, and boost economic growth in cooperation with a team of up to 1,000 Egyptian employees. He further praised Egypt's healthcare system, as the country had become the first in the world to achieve the gold tier status on the path to elimination of hepatitis C by the World Health Organisation (WHO), thanks to the 100-Day Health Presidential Initiative. AstraZeneca, through its partnerships, supports the journey of liver problems, including hepatitis C, liver fibrosis, and liver cancer in Egypt from early diagnosis to treatment, Werdany noted. This includes the national efforts to raise awareness about the disease, benefiting from digital solutions by analysing health data and reaching a treatment plan, multiple diagnoses and cooperation with major European cancer centres, and providing the latest advanced treatment methods in line with global standards to reduce the death rate by up to 20 per cent. The company's efforts have also extended to include cancer control in Africa through initiatives such as Cancer Care Africa, which was launched in November 2023 during COP27 in Egypt. The initiative aims to address the challenges posed by cancer across the continent. So far, the initiatives have raised awareness among nearly 10 million citizens about breast cancer and trained more than 2,500 doctors, including more than 700 doctors in various African countries, in addition to fellowships with global institutes. "We aspire to examine one million lung cancer patients using the latest artificial intelligence technologies." Werdany further said.
