European Business Magazine Talks To Lamia Tazi

European Business Magazine talks to

Lamia Tazi Secretary General of the Moroccan Federation of Pharma Industry and Innovation, about the Moroccan pharmaceutical industry, the impact of COVID-19, the new federation FMIP and accessibility to medicines.

The Moroccan pharmaceu cal industry went from 80% of the local market in the late 90s to less than 60% now. What, in your opinion, are the main factors that hinder the sustainable growth of this sector and what ac ons are needed to help boost and develop it?

During the period to which you refer, there has been a regression in the share of manufactured drugs compared to those imported. In 2013, this phenomenon was par cularly exacerbated a er the price decree came into force. The la er clearly favours the imported drug by gran ng it an addi onal margin of 10%. The domes c pharmaceu cal industry has posed this problem to the government. When addressing the development of the Moroccan pharmaceu cal sector, several parameters must be evaluated. The Moroccan pharmaceu cal industry has experienced con nuous growth for more than three decades, some mes in double digits. In 2019, the turnover amounted to 1.5 billion Euros, represen ng 5% of the na onal industrial GDP. The sector provides some 50,000 jobs in 49 pharmaceu cal companies. Despite the current crisis of COVID-19, these jobs have been preserved, as well as the second position of our pharmaceutical industry in Africa, behind that of South Africa. In terms of investments, the Moroccan pharmaceu cal sector mobilizes signifi cant budgets annually, both for the opening of new produc on units and for the maintenance and renova on of exis ng ones. These investments have enabled our industry to posi on itself in the therapeu c areas of the future such as biotherapies, which is sought-a er by pharmaceu cal players. Today, more than ever, local produc on must be supported in order to ensure health autonomy. This must be done through a shortening of the product registration deadline, the establishment of a fast track for the essen al and/or innova ve products, the national preference for manufactured products, the extension of social security coverage and fi nally support for exports.

Morocco stands to benefi t as European fi rms, hurt by COVID-19, look to shorten their supply chains, reduce their overreliance on China and bring manufacturing closer to home. The country could become the best pla orm south of the Mediterranean to build a prosperity hub based on co-investment between the north and the south. Can you elaborate on the opportuni es that exist here? Can you tell European Business Magazine readers about Morocco's strengths in the global value chain? Where do the weaknesses exist, and how can they be handled?

Morocco is well positioned to be the ideal partner of the old continent especially in industrial sectors with high added value such as the pharmaceu cal industry. Thanks to its poli cal stability, its geographical proximity to Europe and above all to the quality of its medicine produc on recognized European quality.

Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown a great dependence of Europe towards Asian countries in terms of the pharmaceu cal industry, whether for fi nished products or API (Ac ve Pharmaceu cal ingredients). I believe that this pandemic represents an opportunity for both Europe and Morocco to put into prac ce a policy of co-loca on and co-investment advocated in recent years by several European officials. This policy can take the form of pharmaceu cal joint ventures whose produc on could be intended for both Europe and Africa. Morocco has several assets to make such coopera on eff ec ve. In terms of quality, Moroccan drugs are produced and registered in accordance with European regula ons. In terms of human resources, Morocco has the skills at all levels, including a new genera on of researchers and innovators, capable of making these pharmaceu cal projects a success. In terms of logis cs, Morocco has developed advanced and quality infrastructure in terms of highway, rail, port and airport networks. Morocco's financial sector, thanks to its African roots, also off ers several advantages to investors. In terms of economic policies, the industrial and technological ci es created par cularly in the north of the country off er a range of advantages and facili es for the establishment of leading Euro-Moroccan pharmaceu cal units. Furthermore, Morocco's commitment to the produc on of renewable energies represents a guarantee of compliance with interna onal environmental standards for European partners.

The new federa on, the Moroccan Federa on of the Pharmaceu cal Industry (FMIP), aims to unite pharmaceu cal operators in Morocco and strengthen the na onal industrial fabric. What benefi ts will FMIP bring, and how will it support the Moroccan pharmaceu cal sector on the interna onal stage?

The members of the Moroccan Associa on of the Pharmaceu cal Industry (AMIP) unanimously agreed about the crea on of the Moroccan Federation of the Pharmaceutical Industry (FMIP) at the end of the Ordinary General Assembly of the associa on held on Tuesday, September 29th. This new federa on aims to bring together all the pharmaceu cal players in Morocco to strengthen the pharmaceu cal industrializa on. Whether its generic or mul na onals opera ng in Morocco via industrial sites, we all have a single goal which is to ensure Morocco's autonomy in the manufacture of drugs, and a quality and accessible product for the consumer. FMIP is created to support the various development ini a ves of the sector, especially in terms of industrial tools, Research and Development or innova on.

In your opinion, what are the legal and technical constraints to overcome in order to promote and encourage a stronger na onal pharmaceu cal industry? And what methods do you advise to create an adequate framework for this fi eld of ac vity?

From a legal perspective, the last two decades have seen several law reforms governing the pharmaceu cal sector; some of these reforms are posi ve and some are not. The entry into force of Law 17.04, the Pharmacy and Medicines Code, for example, has made it possible to open up the capital of pharmaceu cal companies to national or foreign investors other

than pharmacists. This is a major step forward and this legal framework can play a posi ve role in the Euro-Moroccan coopera on I men oned earlier. However, there are certainly challenges to be met at the regulatory level. One of these challenges is the long process of gran ng Marke ng Authorizations (MA) for new pharmaceutical specialties. I think that France's response to the impact of COVID-19 on its drug industry can serve as a model in this field. As a ma er of fact, one of the key measures recently taken by the French authori es to boost the French pharmaceutical industry is precisely to facilitate the registra on formali es for new drugs and to shorten the me to obtain the MA.

What impact has the COVID19 crisis had on the Moroccan pharmaceu cal industry, and what opportuni es have come about directly because of the pandemic? Did the crisis directly impact the sector's interna onal development strategy, par cularly in Africa?

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a rich learning experience for the pharmaceu cal sector. It was necessary to react quickly through the ac va on of business con nuity plans that respond both to the country's needs for drugs - especially those included in the COVID treatment protocol - and to the impera ves of preven ng contamina on within the produc on units. There was huge pressure on the industrial teams, who have doubled their crea vity to maintain the delivery of medicines on me, along with safeguarding the health of employees and avoiding the formation of contamina on clusters. In terms of medical promo on, containment simply stopped medical representa ves from visi ng doctors and organizing scien fi c events. This was an opportunity for our teams to imagine other forms of communication. In that respect, thanks to digital technology, we were able to maintain our medical and pharmaceu cal informa on eff orts through the organiza on of virtual congresses and webinar trainings. In brief, I think that the pandemic has had the merit of pushing pharmaceu cal players to make major transforma ons in their opera ons. This will posi vely impact the future of the sector.

How would you qualify accessibility of medicines and the system of health insurance in

Morocco? Is it possible to ensure the adequacy between the price of medicines, the level of citizens' income, accessibility to innova on and R&D and the capacity of the AMO?

I believe that the project of generaliza on of social security coverage recently announced by His Majesty the King, will resolve this ques on of accessibility to medicines. The will to solve this problem by focusing on the sole parameter of prices and margins of medicines has proved to be fruitless, because the consump on of medicines per capita has not changed despite all the price cuts announced in recent years by the government. We have the weakest per capita drug consump on in the Maghreb region. It is only 35 Euros per inhabitant per year. This low consump on is essen ally due to the fact that in Morocco two thirds of the popula on do not have reliable social security coverage. Consequently, the project of generalization of social security should contribute to better accessibility to medicines for ci zens, as well as promoting the development of the na onal pharmaceu cal sector.