Major pharmaceutical and medical device businesses in the UAE have signed two memorandums of understanding (MoU) worth a combined Dh260 million ($70.8 million), according to the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT).

The agreements, which were signed in the presence of Sarah bint Youssef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, are in line with the ICV Program and the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology, both of which aim to draw manufacturers and investors to the UAE's pharmaceutical and medical equipment sectors, among others.

In accordance with the agreements, Abu Dhabi Medical Devices Company (ADMD), a division of Abu Dhabi National Industrial Projects, Abu Dhabi Ports Group, and Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge), as well as PureHealth, one of the largest healthcare organisations in the UAE and a participant in the ministry's National ICV Program, will collaborate to establish a Dh110 million medical supplies production line in Abu Dhabi. To produce medical needles, administration tools, and blood collection tubes, Borouge will provide raw materials, while Abu Dhabi Ports Group will give industrial site in ICAD 1.

In accordance with a different memorandum of understanding, PureHealth and Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries Company (Julphar) will build the first manufacturing facility for Glargine, the first long-acting biological substitute for insulin, in the Middle East. The Ras Al Khaimah production facilities, which will cost Dh150 million, will make it possible for the UAE to buy an insulin alternative at more affordable costs. Additionally, it will encourage exports to markets around the world particularly in regions where the need for insulin alternatives is growing.

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 of Borouge, all signed the Memorandum of Understanding.

Sheikh Saqr bin Humaid Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Julphar, attended the signing of the second Memorandum of Understanding between PureHealth and Julphar. Malik and Julphar CEO Dr. Essam Mohamed both signed it.

Omar Al Suwaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, His Excellency Abdullah Al Shamsi, Assistant Undersecretary for the Industrial Development Sector at the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, Sameh Al Qubaisi, Director General of Economic Affairs at the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, and Dr. Amin Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary for the Health Regulation Sector at the Ministry of Health and Prevention, all attended both signings.