Egypt is amongst the largest producers and consumers of pharmaceuticals in Middle-east and Africa with a presence of around 120 pharmaceutical companies with less than 10 multinationals with local production.

The increasing health awareness, population and expanding generic drug sector has made it the 4th most attractive pharmaceutical market in Africa. It is expected that by 2020, the market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.0% in local currency to reach a value of 48.6 bn. 82.5% of total drug sales in 2016 were from prescription sales and 17.5% were over the counter products. Import dominated, Egypt imports roughly 90% of raw materials used in domestic production with European Union being the major source for the Egyptian companies.

As a key aspect of the country’s development strategy, the sector is set to receive higher funding. In January 2017, the Prime Minister issued a decree that grants the Egyptian Military’s National Agency for Military Production a license to contribute in the founding of a company named the Egyptian National Company for Pharmaceuticals – this initiative addresses the drug shortages and focuses on solving the issue in the short and medium term.