Dubai Science Park, Dubai Executive Council set blueprint for UAE healthcare sector

The Dubai Science Park, DSP, the region’s first business community dedicated to the science sector, on Tuesday announced that it has achieved significant progress in identifying, developing and promoting opportunities in Dubai’s pharmaceutical and medical equipment sector.

The achievement is the result of successful collaboration with The Executive Council of Dubai, the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority, Dubai South, and the Dubai Healthcare City Authority.

The announcement coincides with The Executive Council’s recent comments about entering the implementation phase of the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030.

The pharmaceutical and medical equipment sector is expected to play a key role in the development of the UAE’s industry. The Government of Dubai forecasts the entire sector to grow by an additional AED18 billion, increasing Dubai’s gross domestic product, GDP, by an extra AED165 billion, while creating 27,000 jobs by as early as 2030.

This ambitious target was set in March 2017 at the ‘Dubai Plan 2021 Creative Labs,’ an interactive event organised by The Executive Council of Dubai. The event worked towards the goals of the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030, designed to attract manufacturers to six key sectors including pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

Aisha Miran, Assistant Secretary-General of the Strategy Management and Governance Sector at The Executive Council of Dubai, said, "This sector takes priority in the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030 since it helps accelerate innovation and economic growth in Dubai. We are currently witnessing strategic development in all the core sectors, such as the healthcare sector, thanks to the research and innovation taking place in laboratories and subsequently implemented for the benefit of patients. We hope that our efforts will see continuous success so that Dubai can always be a global leader in various fields."

Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi, Executive Director at DSP and Chairing Member of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Equipment Taskforce, entrusted with the delivery, said, "With a shared ambition to turn Dubai into a global healthcare hub, we have worked closely with The Executive Council of Dubai and our taskforce members to support the delivery of the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030. We are closely aligned with the Council in moving towards our overriding goal of positioning the UAE at the forefront of industrial manufacturing.

"To this end, we have successfully identified five key opportunities that are expected to have a significant impact on the healthcare sector in Dubai. Enabled by a favourable regulatory and IP environment, infrastructural developments, improved R&D capacities, and access to government financing, we expect the opportunities to bring the added benefits of job creation, educational prospects and enhanced patient services, whilst helping establish Dubai as a popular destination in terms of medical tourism for patients seeking specialised treatment from across the MENA region and further afield," he added.

The five key opportunities identified by the taskforce are nutraceuticals, blood plasma, 3D printing, super generics and next-generation sequencing.

In the near future, the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Equipment Taskforce will appoint specialised working groups, each tasked with the implementation of enabling features aimed at nurturing the development of each of the highlighted opportunities. The goals are tied to a timeline spanning a one- to ten-year period.