Tahaluf, Saudi Arabia’s fastest-growing business event organizer, has launched the latest in its vertical industry shows — CPHI Middle East, the region’s premier pharmaceutical event — marking a significant milestone for the Middle East’s rapidly expanding pharma sector.

Set to take place at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Convention Center from Dec.10-12, this landmark event has garnered the support of the Saudi Ministry of Health and is being held in partnership with the Events Investment Fund.

The event comes as Saudi Arabia emerges as a global leader in biotechnology, with an ambitious plan to achieve self-sufficiency in vaccine production, biomanufacturing, and genomics. Further, the country’s pharmaceutical market, the largest in the Middle East, is expected to reach $11.5 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate of 2.52 percent, according to market researcher IMARC Group.

Mohaned El-Mahgoub, group director at Tahaluf, said: “The MENA region, which is the world’s fifth largest pharma market, makes Saudi Arabia an important international meeting hub for the pharmaceutical community. It is a hugely attractive region for multinational pharma companies, with projected double digit annual market growth until 2032. CPHI Middle East and Africa will be where the future of pharma unites to forge long-lasting partnerships that stretch across the Middle East, Africa and around the world.”

Healthcare and life sciences are among Saudi Arabia’s most significant sectors and key focuses of Saudi Vision 2030. Of the $333 billion 2024 budget allocation, healthcare and social development expenditures account for roughly $57 billion, the third-largest segment after general and military spending.

Adam Andersen, executive vice president, pharma, Informa Markets, said: “Our venture into the Middle East is a significant milestone as we celebrate 35 years of CPHI this year. Given Saudi Arabia’s strategic location, coupled with an increasing demand for high-quality healthcare products, we’re confident CPHI Middle East will deliver exceptional value to our stakeholders, exhibitors and attendees as we bring the heart of pharma to the Kingdom. This inaugural event also aligns with a key goal of Saudi Vision 2030 to double domestic manufacturing from 20 percent to 40 percent. With several international pharmaceutical companies having already committed to setting up operations in Saudi Arabia, CPHI Middle East will build on that by drawing a number of key international brands eager to explore Saudi Arabia as a potential regional hub.”

Tahaluf expects the event to spread across 30,000 square meters of exhibition space, attract 30,000 visitors, over 400 exhibitors, and more than 100 participating countries. Major regional industry names are among early sponsors and exhibitor signings, including Sudair Pharma, Tabuk Pharmaceuticals, Hikma Pharmaceutical, Pioneer Company for Pharmaceutical Industries, SPIMACO and Julphar, EIPICO, Dallah Pharma, MS Pharma, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Zeta Pharma, and Dietrich Engineering Consultants.

Designed as an experiential event, CPHI Middle East will feature four dedicated stages — The Future, Innovation, Next-Gen Bio and Discovery — where experts will help delegates examine the latest industry trends, challenges and opportunities. A headline speaker platform is already taking shape with global industry leaders signing up to address the gatherings, including Anil Kane, executive director, global head of technical and scientific affairs, Thermo Fisher Scientific; Zakiya Al-Kurdi, public policy and regulatory affairs, US Pharmacopeia; Claudia Palme, senior executive adviser strategy& Middle East, PwC; Faisal bin Dail, chairman, National Committee for Pharmaceutical Industries and Baxter; Musaed Al-Kholief, Saudi Commission for Health Specialities, strategy adviser at the Secretariat General; Bikash Chatterjee, president and chief science officer, Pharmatech Associates, a USP Company; as well as Hala Audi, CEO, Unizima.

CPHI Middle East is the latest in a raft of new vertical events to be launched in Saudi Arabia by Tahaluf — the strategic collaborative venture between Informa PLC, the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, and the Events Investment Fund. The launch of CPHI is part of Tahaluf’s major expansion strategy — the biggest single events expansion in Saudi Arabia’s history — in which the company is introducing more than 20 new B2B and B2C titles into the Kingdom by the end of 2025, bringing more than $1 billion in economic impact to Riyadh.