Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline plans to pump investments worth 400 million Egyptian pounds ($45 million) into Egypt until 2017, according to Egyptian Minister of Investment Dalia Khorshid. Khorshid met on Monday with a delegation from GlaxoSmithKline, headed by vice president and area head of Egypt and the Near East Amre Mamdouh, to discuss the situation of the company's investments in Egypt. According to a statement by the Ministry of Investment, the company invited Khorshid to discuss a new production line in its factory in Cairo, which should be completed by mid-September with an investment of EGP 60m. The new production line comes within the company's commitment to pump EGP 400m into developing all of its factories to operate in accordance with the newest medicine manufacturing technologies. The company's officials said that the new production line in the Cairo factory will produce medication at affordable prices, which is part of the GlaxoSmithKline's global initiative to guarantee access to medicine for patients from all segments of society. The minister expressed her optimism about the company's readiness to cooperate in the field of research and development in the medical sector. She said during the meeting that the ministry is keen to push the work of international companies in Egypt forward and to help them expand their business. GlaxoSmithKline's factories in Cairo and Giza are two of its largest factories in the Middle East and North Africa. It exports at least 15% of its total production to more than 12 international markets. Present for nearly 100 years in the Egyptian market, the company has invested in manufacturing medicine, health education, and training medical cadres. More than 1,700 physicians and specialists work in the company. Source: Daily News Egypt
