Bayer aims to keep tapping into local talent to contribute to the Saudi community RIYADH: The Saudi pharmaceutical market is worth about $8 billion, according to Samer Lezzaiq, Bayer’s managing director for Saudi Arabia. The market is estimated to touch $11 billion in 2026, almost as big as Egypt and the UAE combined. “There is absolutely no doubt that the Saudi pharmaceutical market is among the largest in the Middle East,” said Lezzaiq. “If you look into the markets, you will see that, for example, the UAE’s market is about $3 billion, while Egypt is a little bit more, it’s about $5.5 billion, so Saudi is almost as big as both Egypt and the UAE,” he added. The German inventor of Aspirin has a 1.4 percent market share in the Kingdom, about 1 percent less than the company’s share globally. “So our pharma market share globally is 2.4 percent. We are No. 12 in the world when it comes to pharmaceuticals. In Saudi, we have 1.4 percent; the mzarket share is lower than the global average,” he said. Bayer’s main office in Saudi Arabia is based out of Jeddah, serving the Kingdom and neighboring Gulf countries. With a team of 170 people, Bayer aims to keep tapping into Saudi talent to contribute to the well-being of the Saudi community. “We have 170 employees in Saudi Arabia, almost 52 percent of our workforce is Saudi nationals,” he said. Lezzaiq said that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are leading the region in digital health. The company is utilizing digital tools to accelerate its sales in the region; it has recently closed a deal with Amazon to enhance its reach to consumers. “Our consumer division has some dermatologically tested skin products that were launched recently. So there would be more potential to reach a larger number of consumers by partnering with third parties like Amazon. So digital today is really at the center of our strategy,” he added. Bayer is a German company with a more than 150-year history and core competencies in healthcare and agriculture. On March 6, 1899, Bayer AG registered the trade name Aspirin and began distributing the white powder to hospitals and clinics.