Moroccan pharmaceutical industry increases country's self-sufficiency

Local manufacturing units flourish in Morocco, as regulatory support offers a helping hand, states a new report by health care experts GlobalData, which states that in the early post-independence years, Morocco imported all essential drugs required in the country. However, imports failed to meet the growing demand of the Moroccan population, which led the Moroccan government to take control of the health care situation.

The Moroccan Ministry of Health (MoH) regulates pharmaceutical products in the country, making the act of starting a pharmaceuticals business in the country a fast and easy regulatory procedure. Furthermore, the Moroccan government has made efforts to increase the transparency of the regulatory system, offering quicker regulatory procedures in comparison to other countries.

The total number of days required to register a firm in Morocco is 12 days, less than the United Arab Emirates (13 days). The 18 months required for patent filing in Morocco is also less than that in the United Arab Emirates, and equal to the time taken in Saudi Arabia.