欧美文化:Newly-opened "medicine city" aims to transform Egypt into regional pharmaceutical hub

QALYUBIA, Egypt, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- A medicine city recently opened in Cairo is seeking to transform Egypt into a regional pharmaceutical hub, by securing local and regional markets with high quality products.

"We are building a strategic road map on establishing a regional pharmaceutical hub of excellence for multi-national companies as well as targeting export as a key milestone in our journey," Amre Mamdouh, chairman and CEO of Gypto Pharma, also known as medicine city, told Xinhua.

Achieving medical security, attracting international companies and localizing the pharmaceutical industry are among their core goals, he added.

Inaugurated in April and located in Qalyubia province, north of Cairo, the medicine city covers an area of 180,000 square meters. It is equipped with advanced technologies and systems in pharmaceutical production to attract major international companies in the field.

The current phase covers an area of 120,000 square meters and it includes buildings for traditional medicine production, administration, industrial services and networks, the chairman said.

The future phase covers an area of 60,000 square meters as it includes factories producing biosimilars, oncology medications, Beta-Lactam antibiotics, hormone drugs and vaccines.

The traditional medicine-related premises include a factory for solid preparations production lines for tablets, capsules, sachets, and effervescent, powder formulations.

There is also a factory for semi-solid preparation that includes production lines for ointments, creams, suppositories, and gelatin capsules.

Additionally, the premises include a factory for liquid preparations that contains production lines for syrups and oral drops. Moreover, there is a factory for sterile preparations that includes production lines for ophthalmic drops, dental anesthetics, ampoules, and intravenous fluids.

Mamdouh said the company's strategy is to penetrate the local and global market ethically and to produce high standard quality medicines.

The chairman said the medicine city is also meant to empower the Egyptian citizens and the people of the regions with healthcare needs, stressing that the company is committed to high ethical standards, being the provider of medicines with quality and competitive price.

"We are also committed to making efficient use of resources to secure efficient medicine with zero impact on the environment," Mamdouh said.

Speaking about the plans for the future phase, Mamdouh said the company is looking forward to cooperating with China.

He said China is a friendly country which helped the Egyptian government manufacture COVID-19 vaccines.

"We hope to cooperate with China in the fields of biotechnology, oncology and immunology drugs," the CEO stressed.