The European branch of Terumo Medical Corporation, a Japanese multinational medical products and equipment firm, has opened a new office at the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority to better serve its customers in the Middle East and Africa – including the GCC, Levant, Pakistan and Africa – and pursue emerging opportunities in these key markets.

The opening ceremony recently took place at Dafza 8W building, Dubai, UAE, in the presence of Jamal Bin Marghoob, director, marketing and corporate communications, Dafza; and Mohammad Ismail, general manager of Terumo Middle East, and other distinguished guests from Dafza and Terumo, said a statement from the authority.

Terumo’s Dafza office will help reduce operating costs because of its accessibility and streamlined transactions through one-stop shop services provided within the free zone itself, it said.

The company also looks forward to future collaborations with Dafza as its strategic ally in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region for a number of initiatives set to be implemented within the next five years, it added.

Terumo is the latest addition to DAFZA’s stable of major pharmaceutical names which includes Abbot Laboratories, Actavis, Johnson & Johnson, and Himalaya Drug Company, among others, said a statement.

Demographic trends such as a growing ageing population and increased healthcare expenditure per capita have turned the Middle East into one of the world’s most dynamic healthcare markets, it said.

The GCC healthcare business alone is projected to grow at 12 per cent per annum to $69.4 billion by 2018, offering a wealth of expansion prospects for Terumo and other major healthcare players, it stated.

Terumo’s 800-sq-m leased area will accommodate the company’s comprehensive range of products and accessories especially used for interventional cardiology, interventional oncology, peripheral intervention, pharmaceutical, cardiovascular, diabetes management and other medical products like syringe and infusion pumps, infusion sets, safety hypodermic needles and dental needles, among others, further added the statement.

Bin Marghoob said: “We warmly welcome Terumo as a valuable addition to our high-profile group of hosted multinational corporations.”

“Setting up operations at our free zone will enable our newest partner to gain easier access to the dynamic GCC, Mena and Pakistani healthcare markets. Terumo’s presence also highlights our status as a hub for some of the world’s best healthcare firms and as a preferred destination for capitalising on business opportunities in the Middle East and nearby regions,” he added.

Ismail added: “Through our new office we will be able to facilitate business operations in the region and ensure timely and efficient distribution of our products and services to our distributors as well as engage key opinion leaders and patients at a more personalized level.”

“We expect that our presence in Dubai will help us focus more on serving local and regional patients by making our solutions easily accessible,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service