The Egyptian government has given the military the go-ahead to establish a pharmaceuticals company in a market hit by shortages and a dollar crunch that has driven up prices, AFP reported Monday (January 23rd).
Prime Minister Sherif Ismail issued the decision in a decree published on Sunday in the official gazette.
Ismail "authorises the National Authority for Military Production to participate in the establishment of a joint-stock company" under the name of the Egyptian National Company for Pharmaceutical Products, the decree read.
The announcement did not provide details on the types of medicine it would be able to research or produce.
Health Minister Ahmed Emad announced on January 12th that prices for a quarter of the medicines sold in Egypt would be raised by between 30 and 50%.
The price of pharmaceuticals has risen in the past year, with the shortage of dollars hitting the import of drugs manufactured abroad as well as raw materials used to make them in the country.
