Algerian Radio
Construction work for a Stem Cell Treatment Institute will be launched in Algiers this month, the Minister of Pharmaceutical Industry, Ouacim Kouidri, announced on Tuesday in Algiers. He emphasized that stem cell therapy is currently one of the most promising global solutions for treating incurable diseases, notably cancer and rare diseases.
The Minister was speaking during a presentation titled "The Localization of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Algeria: Between Medication Security and the Realization of the State's Strategic Orientations." The presentation was delivered before the Health, Social Affairs, Labor, and Social Security Committee at the Council of the Nation, chaired by Professor Habib Douaghi, and in the presence of the Minister of Relations with Parliament, Nadjiba Djilali.
In this regard, Mr. Kouidri indicated that the institute, affiliated with the Saïdal group—whose construction will be supervised by the Ministry of Housing, Urban Planning, and the City—will be completed within a year. He stressed that this project will meet the challenge of positioning Algeria among the leading countries in modern medical technologies. Furthermore, it will help reduce the import bill for chemical drugs and improve patient care.
He also mentioned structural projects with a national and regional dimension currently in preparation, concerning the branch of active raw materials and industrial inputs. He emphasized that the sector is in the process of developing a local base for the production of pharmaceutical inputs, with the goal of covering 50% of the national industry's needs by 2027.
These projects notably involve the production of active ingredients for antibiotics, hormones, anticancer drugs, diabetes treatments, and anti-inflammatories, he added. He also announced a project for a vaccine manufacturing plant and a virology research center, which will be equipped with a production unit for human and veterinary vaccines. This will help reduce imports in this area and strengthen Algeria's position as a regional hub.
In this context, the Minister discussed the construction of a medical device sterilization unit, affirming that this project will support the national industry, reduce costs, and improve the competitiveness of local products against imported ones in terms of both quality and price.
Regarding the continental dimension of the sector's projects, Mr. Kouidri indicated that efforts are ongoing to realize a regional logistics center project affiliated with the World Health Organization (WHO). This falls within the framework of implementing the recommendations of the Ministerial Conference on Local Production of Medicines and Health Technologies in Africa, held in Algiers last November.
He explained that this project is part of strengthening Algeria's strategic position internationally and realizing the State's strategic directives aimed at establishing Algeria as a pivotal regional player in the pharmaceutical industry.
This structural project also aims, the Minister added, to make Algeria a regional logistics hub connecting African markets to their European counterparts. It will contribute to supporting the process of achieving health sovereignty for the African continent by promoting national production and integrating Algeria into global supply chains.
As part of strengthening national health security by ensuring a regular supply of essential medicines, medical devices, and other pharmaceutical products, the Minister indicated that an integrated action plan has been implemented. This plan relies primarily on strengthening and developing an integrated and competitive pharmaceutical industry, increasing national production capacities, developing and diversifying the production chain, raising the industrial integration rate, encouraging local and industrial subcontracting, and promoting investment in the fields of pharmaceutical chemistry and biochemistry.
In a speech delivered on this occasion, the committee chairman, Habib Douaghi, affirmed that localizing the pharmaceutical industry is one of the fundamental pillars of health security. This aligns with the directives of the President of the Republic, who insists on the necessity of achieving medication security as an essential component of national sovereignty and guaranteeing the regular availability of high-quality medicines.
This orientation, Mr. Douaghi added, is part of a comprehensive strategic vision by the State aimed at diversifying the national economy, strengthening production capacities, and ensuring better mastery over production chains and expertise.
