UAE announces deals worth Dh260 million to manufacture medical equipment locally

The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) today announced the signing of a pair of memoranda of understanding (MoU) worth Dh260 million ($70.8 million) between major pharmaceutical and medical devices companies in the UAE.

Signed in the presence of Sarah bint Youssef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, the partnerships are in line with the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology and the ICV Program, which aim to attract investors and manufacturers to the UAE’s pharmaceutical and medical equipment sectors, among others.

Under the partnerships, PureHealth, one of the largest healthcare providers in the UAE and a member of the ministry's National ICV Program, will work with Abu Dhabi Medical Devices Company (ADMD), which is a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Industrial Projects, as well as Abu Dhabi Ports Group and Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge) to establish a Dh110 million medical supplies production line in Abu Dhabi. Under the MoU, Borouge will provide raw materials while Abu Dhabi Ports Group will provide industrial land in ICAD 1 for the production of medical syringes, administration devices, and blood collection tubes.

Under a separate MoU, PureHealth and Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries Company (Julphar) will establish the first factory in the Middle East to produce Glargine (the first long-acting biological alternative to insulin) for the treatment of diabetes. The Dh150 million manufacturing facilities will be built in Ras Al Khaimah and will enable the UAE to obtain an insulin substitute at more competitive prices. It will also support exports to regional and global markets where there is an increasing demand for insulin substitutes.

The MoU between PureHealth and Abu Dhabi Medical Devices Company was signed by: Farhan Malik, CEO of PureHealth Group; Mounir Haddad, CEO of Abu Dhabi Medical Devices Company; Abdullah Humaid Al Hamelli, Head of Industrial Cities and Freezones, Abu Dhabi Ports, and Hazeem Sultan Al Suwaidi, CEO, Borouge.

This kind of cooperation between major national companies is a draw for international investors and manufacturers working in priority sectors. The Make it in the Emirates campaign goes hand-in-hand with the National In-Country Value (ICV) Program, in which national companies help to redirect government procurement spending into the local economy.