Localization Of Vaccine Manufacturing And Medical Devices Progress Highlighted During Saudi Arabia Belgium Meetings

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef is using an official visit to Belgium to seek deeper cooperation in pharmaceuticals and medical technology, focusing on attracting investment, transferring advanced know-how, and supporting Saudi Arabia’s goals for drug security and industrial diversification under Saudi Vision 2030.

During the visit, Bandar Alkhorayef held several high-level meetings with global healthcare companies and toured industrial facilities. The agenda centres on localising production of medicines, vaccines, and medical devices in the Kingdom, expanding participation in international supply chains, and aligning new projects with the National Industrial Strategy.

Bandar Alkhorayef met Pfizer Global President of Emerging Markets Nick Lagunowich and senior company leaders in Belgium to discuss strengthening industrial cooperation. Talks covered opportunities to establish local production lines for pharmaceuticals and vaccines in Saudi Arabia and to build joint investments that would enhance the Kingdom’s long-term drug security objectives.

The discussions with Pfizer also looked at mechanisms for exchanging expertise and moving advanced manufacturing technologies for vaccines and biopharmaceuticals to Saudi-based facilities. Both sides reviewed ways to improve the Kingdom’s integration into global pharmaceutical supply chains and to develop high-quality projects that support sustainable industrial growth in Saudi pharmaceutical manufacturing.

As part of the same visit, Bandar Alkhorayef toured Pfizer’s manufacturing units in Brussels, where company specialists explained operational processes, main investment directions, and production tracks in medicines and vaccines. Factory representatives underlined the plant’s global role in supplying vaccines and biopharmaceuticals and expressed interest in transferring similar technologies to a planned facility in the Kingdom.

Bandar Alkhorayef also met the president of Agfa HealthCare to explore cooperation on medical device manufacturing and advanced industrial solutions, which support Saudi pharmaceutical manufacturing goals. The minister inspected Agfa’s industrial sites, reviewing its work on medical device technologies, digital health data systems, modern radiology solutions, specialty chemical production, and green hydrogen membranes, highlighting potential areas for Saudi-Belgian industrial partnership.

With inputs from SPA