The coronavirus crisis has launched the main sovereign wealth funds of the Persian Gulf on the hunt for pharmaceutical companies. The investment mechanisms of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have closed in recent weeks acquisitions of shares in multinational pharmaceutical companies sheltered from the pandemic and the race to manufacture and commercialize the vaccines. "Pharmaceutical companies have long been targeted at various levels for Persian Gulf investments as part of their diversified portfolios, but the coronavirus has prompted a rethinking of the importance of direct investment in pharmaceuticals and capacity development for local manufacturing ", recognizes EL MUNDO the expert Ghanem Nuseibeh .

The latest to join this strategy has been Mubadala Investment Company , the sovereign fund of Abu Dhabi and main shareholder of the Spanish Cepsa. The firm this week broke into the capital of PCI Pharma Services , an American pharmaceutical company that provides a wide range of services, from the early stages of development of a drug to its commercial launch or distribution. Its entry, with a significant stake that has not been disclosed, has been in the company of the US private equity firm Kohlberg & Company, which holds the majority package. Its until now owner , Partners Group , remains in the shareholding with a minority participation. The company employs about 3,900 people and has facilities in six countries. "Outsourced pharmaceutical services have been a key investment for us in recent years and we are excited about the idea of ​​partnering with one of the world leaders in this sector," slides Mubadala Pharmaceutical and Medical Department Director Camilla Macapili.

The bet has also been replicated in neighboring Emirati, Saudi Arabia . The Saudi Public Investment Fund, the local sovereign fund with $ 3.2 billion in assets , has made acquisitions worth € 8.6 billion in recent months. Among its new holdings, is the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, a world leader that, in association with BioNTech, is confident of obtaining the authorization of its vaccine against Covid-19 next October and supplying some 100 million doses worldwide until the end of this year. Pfizer, with a long history of cooperation with the Saudi kingdom, opened a new production facility in the Arab country last year.

Qatar , a political rival to the Saudis and Emiratis, has also come out in search of opportunities amid the global health crisis. Last July, the Investment Authority of Qatar, the country's sovereign wealth fund with $ 328 billion in assets, signed an agreement to acquire an unspecified stake in the German biotechnology company CureVac within the framework of a financing round that allowed it to raise 126 million dollars. Before the Qatari operation, the firm received other capital injections from the British pharmaceutical company GSK, the European Investment Bank and the German government, which invested 343 million dollars in June in exchange for 23 percent of its capital . The company, backed by Bill Gates , is preparing its imminent IPO and developing tests for the development of vaccines against infectious diseases from ribonucleic acid.

The search for new investments in pharmaceuticals is far from over. The sovereign wealth funds blessed by petrodollars, which are among the most powerful on the planet, continue to see new opportunities in their strategy to diversify their economies and move away from their historic addition to crude oil and derivatives. "We will see a greater and more sustained interest in pharmaceuticals from the Gulf countries to increase medical security as they did in the past with the aim of creating food security ," predicts Nuseibeh . The establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the Emirates, initialed a few weeks ago, opens up new opportunities in the medical sector. "There is also interest in Chinese, European and Korean companies. They are looking around the world , both in technology to boost local production and strictly in financial investments, " he concludes.

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