Global pharmaceutical companies are beginning to transfer knowledge to local manufacturing partners in the UAE, encouraged by supportive government policies and a strong regulatory framework.

This is helping the Emirates’ to develop a home-grown pharmaceutical industry, said a statement.

Speaking at an Emerging Markets Intelligence and Research (EMIR) event hosted at Burj Al Arab, Dr Amin Al Amiri, assistant under-secretary for Public Health Policy and Licensing at the UAE Ministry of Health, said: “By 2021 we will be one of the leading countries in the pharmaceutical industry.”

He went on to encourage pharmaceutical multinationals to follow the lead of Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical division of Merck, which in 2012 entered into a local manufacturing agreement with Abu Dhabi-based Neopharma.

The production agreement under which Neopharma is working to manufacture two Merck Serono products — Euthyrox, a hormone therapy treatment, and Glucophage a standard oral treatment for type 2 diabetes — is catering to regional demand and helping to turn the UAE into a pharmaceutical export base.

According to industry experts at the event, the partnership offers a powerful example of how UAE firms, with a supportive government creating a conducive business environment, can partner with international companies to bring innovation, research, science and technology to the Emirates.

Paolo Carli, head of Middle Near East, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, said: “The strategic partnership with the UAE Ministry of Health has bolstered our local and regional presence, augmented our brand equity and improved patient access to our innovative medications while driving development and growth.” - TradeArabia News Service