RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has invested $3.9 billion in research and development since 2021 and established innovative biotech clusters in its bid to become a global research leader, revealed an industry report.
According to Strategy& Middle East, part of the PwC network, the Kingdom’s vision of economic diversification has enabled it to become an international hub for the biotech industry and pharmaceutical manufacturing sector.
Flagship institutions, such as the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, have made extensive investments in infrastructure.
Advanced labs and innovation initiatives like the Saudi Human Genome Program and the Saudi Network for Clinical Trials are also helping clinician-researchers and commercializing potential technologies.
Similarly, the National Biotechnology Strategy has helped streamline the Kingdom’s regulatory framework for trials, testing and bioethics.
“Biotechnologies, with their ability to develop groundbreaking technologies and medical products, can revolutionize not just the national non-oil economy but everything from the chemicals industry to agriculture, food security and human health,” said Walid Tohme, partner with Strategy& Middle East, in the report.
The report further pointed out that the scale of investment and regulatory development already implemented in the Kingdom is already helping to streamline the country’s capacity for trials, testing and bioethics.
Claudia Palme, a senior executive advisor with Strategy& Middle East, said that the next step on the value curve involved establishing a more nuanced, targeted approach that brings government and private sector stakeholders together with shared objectives and strong investment incentives.
The report also added that increasing public and private funding, expanding human capital, developing a robust infrastructure and creating a solid regulatory framework could elevate the domestic biotechnology sector to a global stage.
“Furthermore, a nationwide ecosystem of biotech infrastructures from Neom to KAUST and clusters in Riyadh will yield a successful sector that creates economic diversification, skilled jobs, and many health, social and economic benefits,” said Irfan Merali, a principal with Strategy& Middle East.
