United Arab Emirates Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q3 2009

The UAE Ministry of Health is planning to establish a National Pharmocovigilance Committee in Q309.

Significantly, the division will be within the Ministry of Health building in Dubai, allowing for communication between departments and therefore a more efficient surveillance process for marketed pharmaceuticals in the Emirates. BMI notes the emerging markets are rapidly recognising that having a centralised system for reporting adverse reactions to medicines will attract multinational pharmaceutical firms looking to reduce risk when entering new countries.

The new committee is also expected to deal with safety testing pharmaceutical products to be used in the UAE, and to provide consulting and information services on drug registration and related processes within the country. Encouragingly the planned committee will have a database where records from smaller health bodies can be updated, which will also be used for international co-operation with other governmental pharmaceutical authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The UAE government has previously asserted that its heavy reliance on imported pharmaceuticals needs to be redressed with an increase in domestic manufacturing.During April 2009, indigenous drugmakers stated that the government needs to encourage more medicine manufacturing in the country through a more unified regulatory process within the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states, and further through financial support.

We note that perceptions of Emirati residents being able to afford patented drugs are changing and that the Middle East should be highlighted as a high-growth potential region for generic drug companies looking to boost global sales as part of their growth strategy.

We believe that another area for urgent review is the lack of drug safety testing within the Emirates.

While relying on internationally qualified medicines saves money on implementing safety protocols in the country, it paradoxically leaves the UAE reliant on more expensive US FDA- or European Medicines Agency (EMEA)-approved pharmaceuticals, which have to be imported. In addition, multinationals present in the UAE, including Pfizer, have emphasised that joint ventures with indigenous manufacturers are only viable options if they comply with GMP criteria. BMI reinforces that collaborative investments like this are an attractive method of stimulating local production while maintaining foreign interest and should be considered by the government as a simultaneous means of boosting the sector.