Hommam Al Nassim 
Pharmaceutical sales in Egypt increased significantly during the first half of 2024, with Ali Aouf, head of the Pharmaceuticals Division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, estimating the sales volume at more than 90 billion pounds.
According to his statements to “Al Arabiya Business”, this figure represents an increase of more than 45% compared to the same period of the previous year, as sales amounted to about 62 billion pounds.
Aouf explained that this significant increase came as a result of moving the prices of some pharmaceutical items in the last months of last year, the impact of which was clearly evident in the first three months of the current year. He also pointed out the introduction of new increases on some drug prices in the second quarter of this year.
The head of the division expected that pharmaceutical sales in Egypt would reach a record level between 200 and 210 billion pounds by the end of this year, compared to about 155 billion pounds in 2023.
This expectation comes in light of the continued submission of requests by pharmaceutical companies to raise the prices of their preparations, in line with the economic changes in the country after the liberalization of the exchange rate last March.
For his part, Aouf explained that these increases come after a comprehensive study of the impact of exchange rate liberalization on the economies of pharmaceutical companies, noting that the Egyptian Medicines Authority has received requests to move the prices of about 1,000 additional pharmaceutical products before the end of this year.
Egypt pays off $25 billion of its debt and boosts economic confidence