ISLAMABAD: Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal said this week that Pakistan is “very close” to reaching an agreement with Saudi Arabia that would enable Islamabad to manufacture vaccines locally, saying production could begin within the next three years.

An 11-member Saudi delegation, led by the Kingdom’s senior adviser to the minister of industry Nizar Al-Hariri, arrived in Pakistan this week and held talks with health officials on establishing local vaccine manufacturing.

The talks take place amid Pakistan’s broader push to strengthen health security and industrial capacity. The country of more than 240 million currently imports all vaccines used in its national immunization campaigns, relying heavily on international partners to help cover costs.

“We have not yet reached the agreement, but we are reaching toward the agreement,” Kamal told Arab News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

He said Pakistani officials have been in touch with the Saudi government for the past six to seven months on the matter.

“So, I think we have traveled a long way and we are very close to making some decision regarding [an] agreement,” the minister added.

Pakistan currently provides vaccines for 13 diseases free of cost. However, imports all of these vaccines at an annual cost of about $400 million.

According to the health ministry, international partners currently cover 49 percent of these costs, with the remainder borne by the Pakistani government. This external support, Kamal warned, is expected to end after 2030.

The minister said local vaccine production could significantly reduce Pakistan’s reliance on imported vaccines and help prepare the country for when the support from international partners ends.

VACCINE PRODUCTION IN PHASES

Kamal said once the agreement with Saudi Arabia is signed, vaccine production in Pakistan would begin far earlier than anticipated.
 
“The moment we sign the agreement, it will not take 2030 to, you know, make [vaccines],” the minister said.

He said vaccines in Pakistan will be developed in a phased manner. Within one year, Pakistan can start packing and filling vaccines and by the second, it can advance to another level, he said.

“And the third or fourth year, we could go to the seeds’ production and other indigenous vaccines,” Kamal said. “The entire thing should be done here in Pakistan.”

He said the proposed project is expected to be a joint partnership between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, with the possibility of Indonesia also joining at a later stage.

However, the minister clarified that details are yet to be decided.

’TREMENDOUS JOB’

When asked why Pakistan was eyeing a partnership with Saudi Arabia in producing vaccines locally, Kamal said the Kingdom has achieved the World Health Organization’s maturity level four (ML4) for medicines and vaccines regulation.

ML-4 is the highest level of WHO’s classification for regulatory authorities, Kamal noted.

 
“Well, Saudi Arabia has done a tremendous job,” the minister said. “We must understand this. They are working on this issue, on this local vaccine production for the last 10 years.”

Pakistan currently holds an ML-2 certification and is attempting to rise to a level above, Kamal said. The minister said Saudi Arabia’s support could help Islamabad move closer to international pre-qualification standards.
 
Kamal said Pakistan’s push for local vaccine production was driven by the looming end of donor support for its immunization programs.

He said that when this support ends after 2030, the government would have to pay around $1.2 billion to import vaccines.

Pakistan’s annual vaccine requirement currently stands at around 130 million doses, a figure Kamal said is not financially viable for large-scale production unless output is increased for export.
 
“Unless and until we have 300 to 400 million doses, then it becomes a viability,” Kamal said.
 
Pakistan plans to export vaccines to global markets once it starts producing them, leveraging its existing pharmaceutical export footprint.
 
“Pakistani medicines are going all over the world,” he said. “I mean, Africa, Europe, Middle East, Central Asian countries.

“So, the same way, we will be marketing our vaccine to different parts of the world as well,” he explained.
 
Kamal said the government has already introduced several leading local pharmaceutical companies to the Saudi delegation, keeping the door open for business-to-business partnerships.
 
He said tangible results on local vaccine production could be expected within three years.

“And this, I am telling you, would be a miracle,” he said.