Julphar Launches MSD Partnership

Leading UAE pharmaceutical company Julphar has announced an agreement with global healthcare company MSD in a signing ceremony in Dubai.

The new partnership is a merchandising collaboration on several pharmaceutical products with cardiovascular disease the main health problem to be targeted.

It will also offer treatments for other areas including women’s health, dermatology, pain and inflammation.

Dr Ayman Sahli, CEO of Julphar, said: “This agreement is the result of shared values and principles of healthcare in the MENA region. Together, we aim to share our expertise in order to build a collaboration, to utilise our strength and local knowledge and to provide better access and services to the healthcare providers in this region.

“It’s a great pleasure for Julphar to join forces to collaborate with MSD in this area. It’s good for UAE, it’s good for GCC, it’s good for healthcare providers and it’s good for our patients.”

Andrew Miles, managing director of MSD Gulf, said: “We started with an agreement on areas of unmet need. Cardiovascular is the number one cause of mortality in the UAE today so we feel this is where we can make the biggest dent in supporting patients and inline with the UAE government’s healthcare policy which is to ensure that better access is given to patients.

“Julphar is allowing us through this alliance to make sure we’re reaching a broader access throughout the region and allowing us to reach places that we didn’t get to before.”

The move though is not expected to initially reap financial reward for the Ras al-Khaimah based Julphar.

“Initially it will not be a major financial impact on Julphar, there will be some indirect impact but definitely in the future there will be a direct impact commercially,” said Sahli. “This agreement is an example of what two companies that have their own strengths can bring together.”

Sahli also revealed the partnership is a part of Julphar’s ever-expanding business and reach across the region.

“The focus for us is on distribution and more coverage in the MENA region. We’re building three plants right now in Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Algeria. We have a major expansion at our facility in insulin and bio technology and add to that today’s agreement, that will definitely enhance the position of distribution in the region.”

The news highlights the belief of many in the healthcare sector that the UAE is fast becoming a global hub of the industry.

“The UAE has its place [in world healthcare] because this is a place for major manufacturing of pharmaceutical business. From here we export to more than 45 countries, so the UAE is the centre point in Middle East for manufacturing medicines,” said Sahli.