The value of pharmaceutical exports topped €176 million in the first nine months, a 12 per cent increase on the previous year, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said, underscoring the sector’s importance to the economy.

Mr Fenech said the life sciences sector, which included pharmaceutical companies, was an important pillar of the economy through its contribution to GDP and the employment of a large number of people.

Last year, the pharmaceutical industry generated €96 million of gross value added to the economy with a capital investment that exceeded €250 million, he said.

He was speaking at the launch of the healthcare branch of international communications company Saatchi and Saatchi in Malta.

Saatchi’s presence in Malta brought a new dimension to the sector by making its high-level strategic and creative competences in health communications available to industry, Mr Fenech said.

Saatchi and Saatchi Health Communications is a large healthcare worldwide communication network with 41 offices, housing over 3,000 employees in 10 countries.

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