Five new medicine, healthcare product factories coming up in Oman

Muscat: To ensure Oman is able to remain self-sufficient when it comes to providing medicines and other life-saving healthcare products to people in the country, five new medical factories are currently being constructed in the country, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) has announced.

Costing a total of OMR25 million to construct, the five factories will produce various drugs and patient kits required to provide urgent medical care to patients in hospitals and at homes. One factory will make intravenous and dialysis solutions. It is first of its kind in the Sultanate. The second factory is for the production of cancer drugs.

Another factory will produce pills, capsules and syrups. There will be a factory for the production of raw materials used in the pharmaceutical industry, and another for medical requirements such as injections.

Sami bin Salem Al-Saheb, the MOCI’s Director General of Industry said: “As part of the national efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, we are continuously working with fast pace and transparency to deal with the new emerging challenges. The measures and procedures in this regard are also being updated.

“The Ministry of Commerce and Industry provides its continuous support to the Omani medical industry to meet the unprecedented demand for personal protective equipment and medical items,” he added. “This is considering that the wide range of personal protective equipment, such as masks, gloves and sanitizers, as well as important medical goods and services are related to COVID 19.”

One of the biggest current economic challenges for many Omani medical manufacturers was the availability of raw materials which affects the changes in production levels. It has also largely affected health-care supply chains, many of which depend on imports. The response of the industrial sector has been distinct in this regard, as some industrial establishments have changed some production lines to adapt to the new requirements.