Cinfa, the European pharmaceutical major, confirmed in a launch event celebrated on 10 November in Jeddah, its plans to expand and reinforce its presence in Saudi Arabia as part of its regional strategy to provide authentic accessible care to patients and the community
The commercial attaché attended the launch ceremony at the Spanish embassy, representatives of Cigalah Trading Company headed by Yasser Al-Naghi, representatives of Cinfa from Spain, the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia, a large crowd of doctors and consultants from the medical authorities in Saudi Arabia, and a number of media professionals.
Cinfa made its debut in the Saudi Arabian market in 2018 and over the years, the presence of its products has steadily increased in the market. “Middle East currently represents our largest international market at Cinfa and we plan to consolidate our presence in the region with our launch in the Saudi market, becoming one of the leading players here and covering 10 to 15% of the market in every therapeutic area in which we operate. To achieve this, we focus both on private and institutional market, and we are in constant touch with the stakeholders of the healthcare sector in Saudi to serve them better,” said Franc Vives, chief international officer at Cinfa.
The company has built a complete portfolio of 14 prescription drugs that covers different therapeutic areas, including cardiology, urology and central nervous system.
“Our portfolio is under continuous review and growth to meet the needs of the Saudi Arabian market,” added Vives. “In the coming years, we will continue to expand it with very interesting new molecules such as amlodipine valsartan hydrochlorothiazide, amlodipine olmesartan hydrochlorothiazide, vildagliptin metformin, sitagliptin or apixaban, indicated to treat diseases as hypertension, diabetes, and anticoagulation.”
In KSA, the cardiovascular disease and diabetes have become a very serious health issue. 40% of the KSA adult population has high blood pressure (hypertension), significantly higher than the global average of 30%, according to the Saudi Arabia ministry of health. Additionally, nearly 19% of the population in Saudi Arabia have diabetes, according to the International Diabetes Federation.
“With our presence in KSA, we aim to provide European quality and affordable medicines for these and other health conditions, working hand in hand with healthcare providers and healthcare authorities,” stated Vives.
Yasser Al-Naghi, CEO of Cigalah Trading Company, said, “The Saudi Arabian pharmaceutical market is one of the main markets in the Middle East, with US$37bn. And for a growing market with state-of-the-art infrastructure such as ours, to count on international partners as Cinfa is crucial to keep the level of our health system and guarantee that our citizens have access to all the treatments they need.”
