newseditor Saudi Arabia (KSA) is on the way to establishing itself as a major biotech hub in the next decade due to its rapidly expanding global biotechnology market. While investments and an efficient regulatory framework created the groundwork for the industry, KSA is now taking focused steps and fostering the next stage of development.
KSA’s Role in Shaping Its Biotechnology Sector’s Future
In the first place, the post-pandemic era has seen a surge in the importance of biotechnology on the national agenda. Biotechnologies use cellular and biological processes to create products and services needed in daily life. This can transform everything from food and human health to agriculture and the chemical industry.
KSA is in a good position to develop a globally competitive and industry-leading biotech ecosystem. This is evident in how flagship universities have made major infrastructure investments. This includes KAUST- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre.
In addition, modern research facilities and groundbreaking projects like the Saudi Network for Clinical Trials and the Saudi Human Genome Program are helping clinician-researchers and commercializing potential advancements. Likewise, KSA’s regulatory system for trials, testing, and bioethics is becoming more streamlined due to the National Biotechnology Strategy.
Transforming KSA’s Biotech Landscape
Although KSA has made an effort evident in some of the groundwork for biotech clusters, they can still do more to help the sector grow.
First, the Kingdom has to increase its public and private commercialization funding. Biotech innovation takes a lot of time, especially in the medical field, where products can take up to seven years to go through trials and tests.
Also, although the Kingdom has made major investments in R&D, the majority of funding is going towards basic research, with little attention paid to translating those findings into marketable goods.
Another area for improvement is human capital and talent pipeline. KSA needs to increase its human capital and talent pipeline because the biotech sector demands highly qualified workers. Compared to only a quarter of occupations in other businesses, nearly half of entry-level positions in the industry call for graduate degrees.
KSA produces a lot of healthcare workers each year, but more attention needs to be paid to the skill sets needed to support its growing biotech cluster. This includes jobs like physician entrepreneurs, clinical researchers, trial administrators, and intellectual property experts.
The Kingdom needs to recruit a cadre of qualified foreign workers in order to expand and maintain the necessary talent pipeline. To do this, they need to create a focused package of incentives for founders, scientists, and researchers.
Takeaways
KSA is on the verge of becoming a major global biotech center thanks to its strategic vision, government support, investments, partnerships, and dedication to research and development. The country’s advances in biotechnology hold potential for the scientific world as a whole and for the diversification of its economy.
