Paracetamol raw material plant in Batna due in four months

A plant making the raw material for paracetamol, a common painkiller, in Batna will be handed over within four months at the latest, Algérie Eco reported.

Ouacim Kouidri, minister of pharmaceutical industry, announced this on 12 November during a working visit to the wilaya of Batna.

He was accompanied by the wali (governor) of Batna, Youcef Bechlaoui. After a presentation, he inspected the plant under construction in the Kechida industrial zone.

Work on the plant is about 85% complete, the minister said. The plant will be the first of its kind in Africa and the Arab world.

It will produce 2,000 tonnes a year of the raw material, in its first crystallised form, using modern techniques and international standards, the minister said.

Making the raw material in Algeria will allow wide availability of paracetamol, he said. It will also help reduce the bill for imported medicines and strengthen the country's independence in making essential medicines.

"The project is of national importance," the minister said.

It is among the priority projects of the pharmaceutical sector and follows directives from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. The directives were meant to strengthen health sovereignty and secure local supplies of pharmaceutical raw materials.

The plant will create 700 direct jobs and more than 3,000 indirect jobs, the minister said.

Saidal, a public group, also plans projects for peptides, antibiotic raw materials, anti-cancer medicines, human and veterinary vaccines and eye medicines. The group will run them through partnerships, and they will enter service gradually in the coming months, the minister said.

Algerian skills are behind these projects, he said, showing that the national workforce can meet technological and industrial challenges.

He said controlling the whole chain, from raw material to finished product, is essential for national pharmaceutical security. It will also strengthen the competitiveness of Algerian medicines and promote their export, he said.

During the visit, the minister gave instructions to increase the pace of the work and to meet standards and deadlines. He also inspected a water treatment station under construction for Saidal's raw material projects in Batna, using ultra-modern technology.

The visit also covered a planned medico-social centre linked to Saidal's East distribution unit, where officials said what the unit does, on site.