The Kenipharma company gave, Monday in Kenitra, the kick-off of the work of its pharmaceutical unit specialized in the manufacture of parenteral cytotoxic drugs which will allow the creation of 250 direct jobs.
Relating to an investment of 120 million dirhams (MDH), this project will make it possible to avoid stock shortages of anticancer drugs in Morocco and minimize their cost, to develop high technicality and complex pharmaceutical processes and to position itself within the continent as a benchmark producer of cancer drugs.
Coming from the Industrial Projects Bank, this unit is part of the support for ongoing reforms in the national health ecosystem, under the leadership of HM the King, aimed at the generalization of social protection. Speaking on this occasion, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, indicated that this pioneering project marks a crucial stage in the development of the national pharmaceutical industry which is mobilized to strengthen the health sovereignty of the Kingdom and the positioning essential of Morocco as a hub in the African continent. The said project, he continued, is also part of the dynamic of moving upmarket in the sector by integrating an activity of high technological complexity and improving the accessibility of anti-cancer drugs.
As a reminder, the Ministry recently launched 96 new factsheets as part of the Project Bank, presenting the main opportunities for accelerating the internal market. An average of 70% of these sheets is dedicated to the pharmaceutical industry and covers a variety of activities including galenic development, bioequivalence centers, drugs, biosimilars and biotechnologies and medical devices. The objective is to strengthen local production, which currently covers 50% of local drug needs in terms of value.
Kenipharma is a wholesaler/distributor with 7 years of experience in drug distribution. As a pharmaceutical laboratory created in 2019, the company is embarking on the manufacture of generic drugs, in particular cytotoxic drugs given their importance in cancer chemotherapy.
