First meeting between the Minister of Industry and Pharmaceutical Production, the Minister Delegate and the directors and representatives of the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Products

As part of the series of review meetings with industrial groups and supervised bodies, the Minister of Industry and Pharmaceutical Production, Mr Sifi Ghrieb, and the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Industry in charge of Pharmaceutical Production, Mr Fouad Hadji, held a meeting with the officials of the Saidal group, responsible for the development, production and distribution of generic medicines, and of the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Products.

These meetings featured a presentation on Saidal's medicine production and future projects, as well as on the missions and role of the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Products.

Discussions focused mainly on the production and market for medicines and pharmaceutical products in Algeria, as well as on the arrangements and mechanisms for organising and regulating this market and on the control, approval and conformity certification aspects relating to these products.

Saidal's contribution to self-sufficiency in medicines and pharmaceutical products was presented, in terms of the volume and range of medicines produced by the group and the projects launched to diversify and increase production volume in order to raise its market share in the coming years.

Among the points raised during the meeting was the supply of raw materials for the production of medicines and pharmaceutical products.

In this regard, Mr Ghrieb stressed the need to diversify raw material supply sources in order to avoid stock shortages and production fluctuations.

He issued instructions to increase production volume and the range of medicines produced, in line with the guidance of the President of the Republic, Mr Abdelmadjid Tebboune, concerning self-sufficiency in the production of medicines and pharmaceutical products.

He called for accelerating the delivery of the planned projects, such as expanding the range of medicines produced, producing early-detection reagents for certain diseases and the infant formula production project.

In the same vein, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Industry in charge of Pharmaceutical Production stressed for his part the need for the Saidal group to regain its position on the Algerian market by accelerating the delivery of the programmed projects and stepping up its efforts in this respect.

The merits of reorganising and restructuring the group were also discussed, with a view to ensuring optimal management, better adaptation to the requirements of the national market and the modernisation of management tools, with the possibility of drawing on start-ups to handle certain aspects.

The guidance issued during the meeting also included launching a technology hub project for pharmaceutical products and creating a network for approval, conformity certification and qualification of pharmaceutical equipment.

With regard to the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Products, emphasis was placed on the need to strengthen the Agency's role - it is responsible for regulating pharmaceutical products on the national market - in supporting and assisting operators in the pharmaceutical sector, in registering medicines, issuing decisions on medical devices and simplifying and clarifying the related procedures.