Dubai Science Park (DSP), the region’s first business community dedicated to science sector, said it has achieved significant progress in identifying, developing and promoting opportunities in the emirate’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, reported state news agency Wam.

The pharmaceutical and medical equipment sector is expected to play a key role in the development of the UAE’s industry.

The government forecasts the entire sector to grow by an additional Dh18 billion ($4.9 billion), thus increasing Dubai’s gross domestic product, GDP, by an extra Dh165 billion ($45 billion), while creating 27,000 jobs by as early as 2030.

Aisha Miran, the assistant secretary-general of the strategy management and governance sector at the council, said: "This sector takes priority in the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030 since it helps accelerate innovation and economic growth in the emirate. 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."

Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi, the 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," he stated.

"To this end, we have successfully identified five key opportunities that are expected to have a significant impact on the healthcare sector in Dubai," remarked Janahi.

These are nutraceuticals, blood plasma, 3D printing, super generics and next-generation sequencing, he added.

The pharma taskforce is set to appoint specialised working groups, each tasked with the implementation of enabling features aimed at nurturing the development of each of the highlighted opportunities, said the Wam report.

The goals are tied to a timeline spanning a one- to ten-year period, it added.