GNP and Hikma Pharmaceuticals maintained their rankings with sales of EGP 870m and EGP 847m respectively. Medical Union Pharmaceuticals and Marcyrl Pharmaceutical Industries are likely to compete in 2017, especially as sales of the four companies are very close to each other. The report showed that foreign companies are still holding the largest market share compared to local private companies and public sector companies, with a share of 41% and sales of EGP 17.1bn. Sources at foreign companies stated that sales of multinational companies are usually higher than those of their domestic counterparts as their prices are higher due to the fact that they provide mostly innovative products and treatment of incurable diseases. The sources added that foreign companies have not achieved high profits last year despite the increase in sales volume, due to the exchange rate and the large increase in production costs.