As Saudi Arabia strives to secure a spot for itself on the global biopharma scene, Germany’s Stada has become one of the latest drugmakers to make a manufacturing move in the kingdom.
Stada will invest more than 85 million euros (around $101 million) to build a new production facility in Saudi Arabia, which will ultimately serve as a supply hub for the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the company said in a Feb. 16 press release.
Once up and running, the plant will manufacture essential medicines for conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, serving both Saudi Arabia’s population of 35 million—plus those of surrounding countries, Stada said.
The new plant will be situated on a 23,250-square-meter (250,261-square-foot) site in the Sudair Industrial City—a planned city some 93 miles northwest of Riyadh, according to the company’s announcement.
Stada is designing the plant with a planned yearly production capacity of more than 300 million units in mind. The company says it will kit out the facility to produce “multi-technology solid dosages” and build a manual secondary packaging center at the site.
Additionally, the company has drafted plans for a large-scale warehouse, which will include two dedicated cold rooms. Stada says it expects the site, which will create around 400 new jobs in the country, to be operational by 2030.
Stada is already taking the long view with the facility, noting that it anticipates the plant will supply around 500 million units of cardiovascular drugs during its first five years in operation. Over that same span, the plant is expected to supply some 175 million anticoagulants and nearly 250 million treatments for type 2 diabetes to people in Saudi Arabia, as well as those across the MENA region, Stada said.
The company also plans to produce medicines for central nervous system disorders, such as epilepsy and schizophrenia, as well as antacids, at the Saudi Arabia site.
Stada is not new to the region, having been in business in Saudi Arabia for roughly 15 years and currently employing more than 100 workers in the Gulf country.
“Saudi Arabia is a key market for Stada’s growth strategy outside of Europe,” Stéphane Jacqmin, Stada’s head and EVP of emerging markets, said in a statement. “Adding comprehensive local production capacities adds to Stada’s appeal as a partner of choice in Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East region, building on our strong existing relationships with several renowned pharmaceutical companies.”
Stada—whose business is split along consumer health, specialty medicines and generics—added that Saudi Arabia already ranks among its 20 biggest countries by sales.
In early 2024, Saudi Arabia declared its goal to become an international biotech hub within the next 16 years, state-owned Saudi news outlet Al Arabiya reported at the time.
Meanwhile, multiple other drugmakers—including Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi—have signaled a desire to bolster biopharma manufacturing in the country.