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Protection of Intellectual Property Helps Saudi Pharmaceutical Industry Attract More Investments

Approving protection of intellectual property prompts an increase in investments in the Saudi pharmaceutical industry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Approving protection of intellectual property prompts an increase in investments in the Saudi pharmaceutical industry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Protection of Intellectual Property Helps Saudi Pharmaceutical Industry Attract More Investments

Approving protection of intellectual property prompts an increase in investments in the Saudi pharmaceutical industry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Approving protection of intellectual property prompts an increase in investments in the Saudi pharmaceutical industry. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Samir Khalil, executive director for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Middle East and Africa (MEA), confirmed that Saudi Arabia’s protection of intellectual property will boost the Kingdom’s pharmaceutical industry.

Khalil also predicted that the size of the Saudi pharmaceutical market, which is the largest in the region, will reach 39 billion riyals ($10.4 billion) by 2024.

Through empowering the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property, the Kingdom’s leadership aims to encourage pharmaceutical manufacture, Khalil said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.

He noted that PhRMA and its affiliated companies view positively the Saudi plan for national transformation, known as Vision 2030, especially on how it tackles developing the innovative pharmaceutical sector through attracting more investment and conducting advanced clinical research.

More so, the Global Intellectual Property Challenges Forum, held on the sidelines of the 2020 G20 Riyadh summit under Saudi Presidency, has strengthened existing policies and global cooperation on developing and manufacturing treatments and vaccines for the coronavirus.

Khalil indicated that there are 570 treatments and 51 vaccines for Covid-19 currently being tested in the world.

He stressed that the Middle East and Africa region hosts one of the world’s most dynamic pharmaceutical markets with an accelerating industrial growth.

Noting that Saudi Arabia is one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the region, Khalil said that the Kingdom has witnessed dramatic development over the past years. This was triggered by the increase in population, the rise in GDP and the emergence of more diseases that require treatment.

Speaking on Vision 2030’s strategy for encouraging investment in the pharmaceutical industry, Khalil said: “We have worked over the past years to explore many opportunities to promote policies that contribute to attracting innovation to the region.”

PhRMA's goals focus on helping patients by providing them with the latest innovative medicines and vaccines. The trade group also places great importance on strengthening the concept of protecting intellectual property in the pharmaceutical industry sector. Systems that provide an incubating environment for the protection of innovation are perceived as inviting.

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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.