Egypt's Cabinet said Thursday that a recent report by Fitch Solutions praised the country's pharmaceutical sector as a rising hub in the Middle East and North Africa, attributing the progress to sweeping economic reforms, regulatory modernisation, and growing investment momentum. According to the Cabinet, the August 2025 Fitch Solutions report highlighted the government's efforts to create an investor-friendly environment, which has attracted leading global pharmaceutical firms to the Egyptian market and boosted confidence in long-term economic and regulatory stability. Fitch noted that drug registration timelines in Egypt have been slashed from three to five years to just two to six months, allowing faster product launches and increased registration applications, the statement added. The report also pointed to Egypt's push to localise manufacturing and transfer technology, despite global R&D investment challenges. The Cabinet said Egypt signed three financing agreements worth €36 million with the European Union in 2024 to support vaccine production and scientific research. The report also praised Egypt's legal framework for clinical trials, citing Law No. 214 of 2020 and its executive regulations, which enhance ethical oversight and participant protections. The report, as described by the Cabinet, also reviewed Egypt's public health gains, including initiatives to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs), infectious disease control, and reproductive health. Fitch highlighted Egypt's WHO-recognised elimination of malaria, measles, and rubella, and noted substantial progress toward eliminating hepatitis B and C. Egypt was designated the first country to reach WHO's "gold tier" status for hepatitis C control in October 2023, according to the Cabinet. Other findings included a significant drop in fertility rates—from 3.44 births per woman in 2015 to 2.10 in 2023—which the Cabinet attributed to expanded reproductive health services, higher education rates, and increased female labour force participation. On diabetes, the Cabinet said the report praised national screening efforts, updated treatment protocols, and the rollout of 3,000 HbA1c testing devices across primary healthcare centers. It also pointed to the implementation of the WHO STEPwise survey to improve monitoring. The report commended Egypt's cancer screening programmes, particularly the Presidential Initiative for Women's Health, which recorded 60 million visits since 2019 and helped reduce late-stage cancer diagnoses by 58.9 per cent. Government cancer treatment funding also doubled to 3.6 billion Egyptian pounds in the fiscal year 2023/24. Regarding HIV/AIDS, Fitch noted that Egypt maintains a low prevalence rate compared to regional levels, with free antiretroviral therapy available across a wide network of clinics and no drug shortages over the past six years, the Cabinet said. The Cabinet welcomed the report as recognition of Egypt's progress toward universal healthcare access and affirmed the state's commitment to advancing its pharmaceutical industry and public health outcomes in line with Vision 2030. Disclaimer: Amwal Al Ghad English was unable to independently verify the full Fitch Solutions report, which was not publicly available at the time of publication. This article is based solely on the Cabinet's statement. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English Subediting: Y.Yasser
