Sector Background:

• The Egyptian pharmaceutical market is the largest in the region, worth an estimated 2.1 billion USD in 2007

• Egypt is a leading exporter to Arab, Asian and African regions, although exports have declined in recent years. Rising costs for imported raw materials, due to currency depreciation, have acted  as a brake on local production. Annual market growth is around 5% in US dollar terms.

• Privatization is a growing trend within the Egyptian healthcare industry, thus the sector is undergoing      considerable change. Prior to the 1990s, the sector was predominantly State-controlled, with the private sector playing only a minimal role in the provision of healthcare.

• The private sector now plays an increasingly important role in healthcare provision, emerging  largely as a result of the declining standard of public sector care. Out-of-pocket payments for drugs have also increased in recent years