Pharco Pharmaceuticals plans to start production at a $49 million drug plant in Saudi Arabia by mid-2027, as the Egyptian manufacturer expands its industrial footprint beyond its home market and evaluates two further factories in Africa.
The EGP2.5 billion facility in Al Madinah will initially produce solid oral medicines, with the site designed to accommodate later expansion into additional dosage forms, including biologics and vaccines.
The project gained institutional backing this year when Ashmore Investment Saudi Arabia acquired a minority stake in Pharco KSA through a capital increase. SIDF Investment Company, the investment arm of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, is an anchor investor in Ashmore’s industrial platform.
The investment shifts Pharco from an export-led presence in Saudi Arabia towards local manufacturing aligned with the Kingdom’s pharmaceutical and industrial localisation strategy, potentially strengthening access to domestic procurement and shortening regional supply chains.
Pharco is also evaluating six African markets as it considers establishing one manufacturing base in East Africa and another in West Africa. Final locations have not been selected, but local production could place the company closer to regional demand, procurement systems and distribution networks.
The overseas expansion is being accompanied by further investment in Egypt. Pharco recently completed about EGP650 million in factory upgrades, including new ophthalmic production capacity, and plans to invest roughly EGP1 billion more through the end of 2027.
Taken together, the investments point to a broader shift in Pharco’s operating model: retaining Egypt as its principal production and development base while adding local manufacturing in markets where regulation, procurement and industrial policy increasingly favour domestic capacity.
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