Saudi Arabia – 23 March 2022: A global healthcare company with a vision of creating a better and healthier every day for every woman, Organon announced today its presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with a laser focus on ‘Advancing women’s health.’ The establishment of Organon’s office in Riyadh is a significant step in Organon’s journey across the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) region to address women’s unmet health needs and support the Kingdom’s broader goal and vision to transform itself in healthcare services for the local population. The launch was announced at an event opened by US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr Denison Offutt and Mohamed Holayl, Country Lead for Organon in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Recently, Organon partnered with Flat6Labs to create a FemTech accelerator program across the region, including KSA, giving a head start to female-led digital healthcare start-ups that share its mission. The program has already seen strong participation from KSA. Her Royal Highness Princess Reema Al Saud, Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States, addressed the audience at the launch via a pre-recorded video where she spoke of female empowerment. HRH Princess Reema Al Saudi mentioned that when an innovative group of women are provided with the right tools and opportunities, they can turn problems into solutions.
Organon hosted a panel discussion titled ‘Advances in women’s health in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,’ that featured, distinguished panellists representing different sectors and revealed several insights on women’s evolving role in K.S.A., key challenges, and focused on opportunities for collaboration between the private and public sectors towards improving women’s health.
Speaking at the launch, Ramy Koussa, Associate Vice President for MENAT at Organon, said, “Today marks a key milestone in our journey across the region as we launch Organon in K.S.A. At Organon, we are here for her health. We are deeply committed to listening to women’s needs and understanding where their priorities lie. The evolution we are witnessing in the Saudi market is no ordinary feat. The leadership in Saudi values public-private partnerships, the importance of knowledge exchange, and sharing best practices to advance healthcare. We are thrilled by the opportunity to be here and bring our vision to life. We look forward to leveraging our global expertise to support the Kingdom in ultimately enhancing the wellbeing of women and the society at large.”
Prof. Selwa A. F. Al- Hazzaa, M.D., F.R.C.S., M.M.M., Distinguished Clinical Professor, Senior Consultant of Ophthalmology, C.E.O. and Founder Saudi Development Med (S.D.M.) Saudi Arabia said, ” As the Kingdom seeks to become a centre of research excellence, the biotech pharma digital industries will flourish and cater to local unmet needs. We are keen to see more women working across both the private and public sectors to lead Saudi’s exciting health transformation. The need for local presence of world-leading private sector companies that recognize the importance of women will be critical to 2030 objectives.”
Prof. Samia M. Al- Ammoudi, Founder of Health Empowerment and Health Rights Initiative at King Abdul-Aziz University, Former Founder and Director of Al-Amoudi Center of Excellence of Breast Cancer Patients Care, Professor Consultant Obstetrician-Gynecologist, Faculty of Medicine K.A.U., added, “Saudi Arabia has made huge strides in supporting women’s empowerment with significant legislative and regulatory reforms supporting greater access to education and healthcare services in line with Vision 2030. In the Era of women’s empowerment as directed by the Royal decree issued in 2017 emphasizing the importance of empowering women with their rights, we in our initiative are focusing on reproductive health rights, cancer patient’s rights, and rights of those with a disability to empower them with knowledge and rules and regulations of Ministry of Health that protect their health rights and achieve patient safety for all. Our initiative is working on empowering health care providers as well to protect and advocate for women’s health rights. We are truly excited to improve our female population’s health, which in turn will support their empowerment and role in society.”
Prof. Hibah Aldawsari, Consultant at Deputyship for Research and Innovation- Ministry of Education, stated, “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has realised the importance of providing higher levels of education for women. By advocating for women’s education in certain fields such as S.T.E.M., the Kingdom sets the ideal environment which contributes to fulfilling the broader vision of 2030, and empower women to take on a bigger role in the society”
Mr Khaled Saleh Al-Khattaf, C.E.O. of Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Appliances Corporation (SPIMACO ADDWAEIH), stated, “To help enhance greater access and care for women, it is important that we collaborate with partners who seek to further the same cause. We welcome Organon’s entry into our region and wish them success. I hope that this is only a first step towards many other such partnerships within the Kingdom to advance women’s health.”
Organon’s launch in the Kingdom follows its recent launch across the region. Globally, the healthcare company serves 140 markets with 60 medicines and solutions across its portfolio, consisting of Women’s Health, Biosimilars, and Established Brands.
As part of its mission to innovate and improve the women’s healthcare space, Organon has launched several initiatives across the region, designed to first and foremost listen to women’s needs and subsequently address the gaps in their care.
One of these initiatives is ‘Herhealthmenat.com,’ a multilingual digital platform with multiple languages to ensure that Organon continues to listen to women’s voices and works towards creating collaborative solutions tailored to suit her needs. The company recently launched its “We Believe in Her” campaign for women to prioritize their health, following the worldwide company announcement that gave all its 9,500 founders in the region, including KSA, paid time off on International Women’s Day to attend to their health needs and the health needs of the women in their lives.
Global Healthcare Company’ Organon’ Launches in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a laser focus on ‘Advancing women’s health;’ a commitment to Saudization, female empowerment, and listening to women’s unmet needs
• 70% of Organon’s current workforce in the Kingdom is Saudi, and Organon commits to creating more jobs transfer knowledge and know-how to the market with plans underway for a local manufacturing project
• 30% of the Organon workforce in Saudi Arabia is female. Globally, Organon is the most gender diverse of all healthcare companies in the S&P 500, with 70% of its Board comprising women
• Organon’s mission to deliver impactful solutions for a healthier every day aligns with the Kingdom’s 2030 vision, i.e., to drive one of the largest transformations in healthcare services in the world for the people of Saudi Arabia by 2030
