Glaxo Saudi Arabia, which reported a 10 per cent increase in the value of pharmaceutical sales in 2003, plans to introduce four new products to the local market by the fourth quarter of 2005, a company official has said.

Adel Darwish said the expansion would not involve additions to fixed assets and that the company would be busy throughout 2004 in studies to identify the new products.
The company’s interest in enlarging its product range comes at a time when the Gulf region has seen unprecedented growth in indigenous pharmaceutical production capacity with new factories having been set up Oman and the UAE in the last two years and expansions underway. 
Glaxo Saudi Arabia, whose factory is in Jeddah’s Warehouse City, has capacity to produce annually 12 million tubes, 3.5 million bottles, four million inhalers and 15 million tablet packs per year.
One of the fast-selling products is Zantac, which is prescribed for the short-term treatment of active duodenal ulcers and active benign gastric ulcers and the treatment of conditions in which the stomach produces too much acid as well as for alleviating stress-induced ulcers.
Other fast-moving products are Dermovate, used for treating eczema affecting the scalp; Ventolin, a fast-acting asthma medication for the treatment of asthma and exercise-induced bronchospasm symptoms, and Zinnat, an antibiotic that treats infections caused by bacteria in different parts of the body.
Most of Glaxo Saudi Arabia’s formulations are consumed within the kingdom itself, with very little exported to other Gulf states.
Adel said the significant developments in 2004 were the increase in factory utlisation and decreasing operating expenses. He estimated current overall factory utilisation at around 40 per cent of capacity.
Production in the first half of this year was 5.5 million packs of various products against 12.6 million packs in full-year 2003 and 11.3 million packs throughout 2002.
According to figures released by the company, it registered sales of SR86 million ($22.9 million) in the first half of this year against SR202 million in full-year 2003 and SR184 million throughout 2002.
Glaxo Saudi Arabia was set up as a Saudi-British joint venture between GlaxoWellcome Holdings and Banaja, Glaxo’s agent in the kingdom for over 40 years. The decision to build a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia was formed as part of GlaxoWellcome’s contribution to the Al Yamama Economic Offset Programme established between the governments of Saudi Arabia and the UK.
The factory was built on a site leased from the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce at ‘Warehouse City’ approximately 20 km south of Jeddah’s city centre. The site area is 75,000 sq m of which the buildings occupy 8,000 sq m, allowing considerable scope for expansion. The site is securely fenced on all sides, security alarmed and guarded round the clock.
Allied Engineering Enterprises as the main contractor with the Glaxo Group provided engineering, technical, quality, safety and environmental support throughout the whole design and construction phase. The project value was SR98 million.
The Saudi Import Company (Banaja) holds 51 per cent of the company’s shares with the remainder held by Glaxo pic. The Saudi Import Company is one of the leading pharmaceutical and healthcare distributors in the kingdom, representing a number of multinational companies including GlaxoWellcome (UK), F Hoffman-La Roche (Switzerland), Wyeth-Ayerst Int Inc (USA), Sanofi Winthrop AMO (France) and Procter & Gamble (USA).
The primary aim of the Al Yamamah Economic Offset Programme, which developed from defence equipment sales between the UK and Saudi Arabia, is to help expand the kingdom’s economy through the creation of commercially viable and profitable joint venture projects. These projects introduce new technologies into Saudi Arabia through joint venture or licensing agreements, mobilise private capital, create much-needed jobs for Saudi nationals and help to diversify the kingdom’s industrial base. Although the programme is British, participation is not restricted purely to UK companies. Most countries are eligible for inclusion in the programme.
The long-term target for the programme is to introduce at least £1 billion ($1.77 billion) worth of investment into Saudi Arabia.