DUBAI // The UAE is the only country in the region that is fast-tracking new drugs so that patients who are in need can get access to the most effective medicines quickly.
While most countries take between two and four years to register new drugs, the UAE is able to do so within two or three months.
Dr Amin Al Amiri, assistant undersecretary for public health policy and licensing at the Ministry of Health, discussed fast-tracking at the Health Care in the Middle East and North Africa Conference at Madinat Jumeirah on Tuesday. He also said that the ministry was considering making health insurance federal.
“We have an accelerated system for drug registration and these are not just generic drugs, but innovative medicines that are approved by the food and drug administration in the United States or the European medicines agency,” said Dr Al Amiri.
“We allow fast access to medicines to the patients who need them.”
Drugs are called innovators when it is the first time a particular combination is used. Trulicity, a diabetes innovator medication, was approved in the UAE in November last year, making the country the second in the world to register the drug.
Exviera and Viekirax, which treat hepatitis C, were approved last year and, again, the UAE was the second in the world to do so. Innovator drugs for lung cancer, multiple sclerosis, melanoma and leukaemia have been registered in the UAE last year and this year.
Dr Al Amiri said that the increase in the number of diseases, obesity, hypertension and changes in lifestyle in this country meant that the demands on the health sector were changing and growing day by day.
“It has been estimated by the World Health Organisation that one out of 10 people in Mena has diabetes. By 2035, 68 million people will have diabetes and every country will have new systems to cope with lifestyle changes,” he said, while discussing the importance of innovation in health care. Innovation, he said, was the leading tool to help people reach the new drugs that would help them.
Dr Sameen Siddiqi, director of the department of health systems development at WHO’s eastern Mediterranean regional office, said the fast-tracking of drugs was safe because these medicines were registered and approved by national authorities in other countries, and with good evidence.
“The purpose of fast-tracking medicines is to facilitate and not risk the lives of people.
“Ministries have to partner with academia and the private sector and there are many chances for innovation,” Dr Siddiqi said.
Dr Al Amiri also announced that health insurance across the Emirates could be made federal, meaning that insured people, if they cannot already, could use their health cards across the country and not just in specific emirates, although no details were available yet.
“Soon it will be federal. The Ministry of Heath is working on it and the concerned sector will be announcing,” he said.
Dr Al Amiri also pointed out that entrepreneurs in the region were being encouraged to enter the medical sector in the UAE, because GCC nationals could now own hospitals in the country. Previously they had to partner with Emiratis.
A recent decree from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid stated that GCC nationals with experience in medicine and pharmaceutical industries could now independently own hospitals or medical centres or pharmaceutical factories in non-free zones.
Dr Vivek Muthu, chief health adviser at analysts Economist Intelligence Unit, said the quality of service provided was more important to the customer than knowing who owned the facility.
“It’s a good regional development. To manage and run a business, especially in health care, and be involved in the innovation that is required is good for upscaling,” he said.
arizvi2@thenational.ae
The National photo project
Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).
The%20specs
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Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
World Cup warm up matches
May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff
May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval
May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff
May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval
May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff
'Operation Mincemeat'
Director: John Madden
Cast: Colin Firth, Matthew Macfayden, Kelly Macdonald and Penelope Wilton
Rating: 4/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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