Cairo — Mr. Sultan Al-Mansour, Chairman of All Care Group, took part in a firechat session at Pharmaconex 2026 in Cairo under the topic “GCC Pharma Investment Trends: Strategies for Attracting Capital and Strategic Partners,” presenting a practical view of how pharmaceutical investment in the Gulf is moving from import-led market access toward localization, advanced manufacturing, technology transfer and long-term industrial partnerships.
Mr. Sultan Al-Mansour said the GCC pharmaceutical opportunity should no longer be assessed only through market growth. According to figures presented during the session, the regional pharmaceutical market has surpassed US$30 billion, while Saudi Arabia remains its largest anchor market. He argued that governments in the region are increasingly treating pharmaceuticals not only as a healthcare expenditure, but as strategic infrastructure linked to supply security, industrial capability and economic resilience.
A central theme of the discussion was the changing nature of therapeutic demand. Mr. Sultan Al-Mansour noted that chronic and cardiometabolic diseases, oncology, immunology and respiratory conditions are increasing demand for more sophisticated therapies and, consequently, for deeper local capabilities in biologics, biosimilars, advanced diagnostics, specialized manufacturing and cold-chain systems. He stressed that investment decisions should begin with disease burden, treatment pathways, procurement data and patient access rather than with broad market-size headlines.
The session also addressed localization and regulation. Mr. Sultan Al-Mansour emphasized that a factory should not be built simply because policy encourages local manufacturing. Localization becomes commercially meaningful when it improves project economics through more predictable demand, access to institutional procurement, shorter supply chains and stronger resilience. Regulation and procurement, he added, must be integrated into the investment model from the beginning through registration strategy, quality systems, manufacturing planning and tender access.
On capital allocation, Mr. Sultan Al-Mansour said investors are becoming more disciplined and want to see how demand will convert into predictable cash flow. A bankable pharmaceutical project, he explained, requires a realistic regulatory pathway, competitive manufacturing economics, a credible route to customers, clear technology-transfer responsibilities, strong governance and a scalable financial model. “The factory is the execution vehicle; it is not the investment thesis by itself,” he said.
He also highlighted Saudi Arabia’s potential to serve as a regional manufacturing and export base. The stronger model, he said, is to use domestic demand as an anchor and build flexible platforms capable of adding products, international partners and export markets over time.
Discussing All Care Group’s role, Mr. Sultan Al-Mansour said the company is positioning itself as a co-investment and execution partner. All Care Group’s model is to co-invest, co-own and jointly operate selected projects, combining local execution, industrial infrastructure, regulatory coordination and market intelligence with the international partner’s technology, know-how and products. The Group’s projects in Sudair Industrial and Business City and its wider joint-venture pipeline are being developed around this approach. Mr. Sultan Al-Mansour concluded that the next generation of successful GCC pharmaceutical projects will be built around integrated partnerships combining technology, capital, local execution, regulatory discipline and regional ambition, rather than simple import substitution.