Saudi Arabia – by many measures the cultural, social, and economic centre of the Arab and Islamic worlds – is currently undergoing a once-in-a-lifetime transformation.
The ‘Vision 2030’ transformation plan is not only reshaping the Saudi economy and reducing its dependence on petroleum revenues but is also unleashing sweeping societal changes and creating a wealth of new opportunities for savvy international investors.
Nowhere are these opportunities more apparent than in the Saudi healthcare and life sciences sector, where multinational firms and local players alike are busily adapting to a new reality. Healthcare reform is already well underway, hospital procurement has been unified in a single body, and new local content requirements have been put in place. Moreover, the country is positioning itself as a regional epicentre for regulatory affairs and has been pinpointed as an early launch market for new innovations within its region.
However, such seismic change cannot be fully realised overnight and in areas such as the establishment of innovative pricing and risk sharing models as well as the building of a domestic R&D and clinical trials ecosystem, Saudi Arabia still has a road to travel.
Nevertheless, as the insights of leading local and regional executives and KOLs contained within this inaugural Healthcare & Life Sciences Review Saudi Arabia show, this is a moment of huge optimism and opportunity for the country and one which cannot be missed.