Potency drug Viagra and other prescription medicines such as Lipitor and Celebrex will be produced in Saudi Arabia by late 2013. These medicines will be manufactured in the multimillion riyal state-of-the-art Pfizer plant to be located at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) north of Jeddah. Pfizer is the world's leading biopharmaceutical company. Bulent Atlig, Vice President, Emerging Markets Leader, Pfizer Global Manufacturing, told a crowded press conference here Monday that Pfizer will build the manufacturing plant in different phases starting from the designing stage in 2012. Mohanad Hilal, Secretary General of the Economic Cities Authority, was also present. Later, Prince Saud Bin Khalid Al-Faisal, Advisor to the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), and Guy Lallemand, Pfizer Regional President for Africa and Middle East, signed the agreement at a glittering ceremony at Al-Faisalia Hotel. Atlig said the plant will create between 100 and 200 jobs for Saudis. He said Pfizer's Saudi plant is initially planning to produce prescription medicines, such as Lipitor, a cholesterol lowering agent; Celebrex, an anti-inflammatory drug and Viagra, a prescription medication for erectile dysfunction. “These medicines are based on the demand in Saudi Arabia,” said Atlig. He said the project will incorporate medicine manufacturing and packaging technologies within one complex to be located at KAEC over an area of 65,000 sq. meters. He said the project will ensure local production of Pfizer's pharmaceutical medicines, and facilitate the transfer of some expertise and technology from Pfizer to the local market in the Kingdom. Atlig said the Pfizer plant in Saudi Arabia will be a modern and environmentally-friendly manufacturing unit. “We are trying to construct one of the greenest plants, using solar energy at the highest level,” he told Saudi Gazette. US Ambassador James Smith, who also attended the signing ceremony, said Pfizer would initially offer an opportunity to create over 100 jobs for Saudis, which might multiply to many more in the future. The high technology involved in the pharmaceutical project which will be shared with motivated people will be an expression of trust in the Kingdom's economic power and stability, he said. __
