Boom time ahead for Egyptian generics?

TradeArabia reports that the Eastgate Capital Group,a private equity fund management arm of NCB Capital of Saudi Arabia, has aquired a key stake in Egypt-based Sigma Pharmaceutical Industries for EGP220 million ($40 million). The funding will let Sigma expand into other regional markets including Algeria and Sudan. Egypt represents one of the largest and fastest growing pharmaceutical markets in the Mena (Middle East/North Africa) region, growing in value on average at approximately 15 per cent per annum over the past eight years.

Afro-Leo wonders whether any African country that starts off with a booming generics industry will ever acquire a proprietary pharma patent base too.