Outside, the first wind of autumn is blowing desert dust towards Amman, the Jordanian capital. But inside the headquarters of Hikma Pharmaceuticals, a generic drugs multinational, all is calm and cleansed.

Behind electronically sealed doors, production-line workers move with silent efficiency in a sterile environment, wearing lab coats, gloves, face-masks and hairnets. Compactors spit out pills in neat streams, while packaging machines bottle, seal and label the plastic containers.