THE FINISHING touch
With Phase I recently completed and Phase II raring to go with over 40 projects in the pipeline, the DHCC is setting the stage for Dubai’s success in the sector.
How does Phase II of DHCC both differ from and build off the success of Phase I?
In Dubai Healthcare City’s Phase I, which is dedicated to healthcare and medical education, we established the foundation of a healthcare ecosystem where investors, healthcare professionals, researchers, academics, students, and patients come together to benefit from this self-sustaining healthcare free zone in Dubai. We streamlined the process of setting up a business in DHCC through Masaar, an e-services system that combines clinical and commercial activities. We introduced a robust yet dynamic regulatory framework to spearhead the development of the health sector in the UAE and beyond. Phase II will build on this success to complement the DHCC ecosystem. Sitting on over 19 million sqft and overlooking the historic Dubai Creek and Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary, Dubai Phase II in Al Jaddaf will focus on preventative healthcare and wellness through specialized services such as rehabilitation, counseling, sports medicine, and elderly care for both residents and visitors. In 2019, Phase II welcomed residents to its first two residential projects, Azizi Aliyah and Al Waleed Garden Tower. In 2020, Clemenceau Medical Center Dubai, the first general hospital in Phase II, opened its doors to the public. A renowned name in the region and part of the Clemenceau Medicine network of hospitals, the new 100-bed hospital will further cement DHCC’s position as a hub for quality healthcare and excellence. There are currently more than 40 projects under development in Phase II including the first Barraquer UAE Eye Hospital in the Middle East, one of world’s leading eye clinics from Spain.
“The UAE can become a global leader in healthcare delivery through the agility of its government in responding to the impact of disruptive technologies.”
What specialties are you looking to attract based on market needs?
There are currently more than 300 specialties available in DHCC. Based on the free zone’s current needs, we are looking to attract several specialties including ophthalmology, urology, nephrology, and anesthesiology. To identify future gaps, we are working with Dubai Health Authority as part of their ‘Certificate of Need’ guidelines to provide in-depth knowledge on the gaps of the UAE healthcare sector to help promote need-based investment. This will provide us with a long-term projection of the required specialties, and we will work towards developing our regulations in accordance with this certificate to address the requirements of priority areas to avoid a supply and demand imbalance in the market.
Research is a main pillar of the DHCC ecosystem and an important factor to attract high-caliber physicians to Dubai. There are more than 55 research projects, including early phase clinical trials, currently registered in the free zone. Since 2018, the research department of Dubai Healthcare City Authority Regulatory has developed a robust mechanism to review research applications resulting in a reduction of more than 60% in assessment time and a 77% growth in research conducted. Recently, to empower our community members, we co-sponsored the ‘Professional Diploma in Clinical Leadership and Innovation,’ offering the program to our community at a 40% discounted rate.
What are your other strategic priorities, and what are we looking forward to in 2020?
The UAE can become a global leader in healthcare delivery through the agility of its government in responding to the impact of disruptive technologies. Since 2015, the country’s leadership has launched several strategies, including the National Innovation Strategy, the AI Strategy, and Blockchain Strategy with the aim of being at the forefront of this fast-paced industry. In 2019, as part of designing an agile regulatory framework, we developed more than 80 new policies, 24 standards, and more than 30 guidelines in our nine areas of regulations covering healthcare professionals, operators, education, research, health data protection as well as commercial licensing, including a teleconsultation policy. Our priority for 2020 is to continue to develop our regulations to be responsive to the demands of the health sector, especially those brought by new technologies, to enable the development of the country’s health sector. ✖
How does Dubai Science Park lead the way in building the R&D capacity in Dubai?
R&D is a key component of our ecosystem, and we have seen increased funding from the public and private sector in recent years. The Dubai government’s 2020 budget (its largest in history) will fill our business partners with the confidence to play a leading role in R&D across science, energy, and the environment. Dubai Science Park contributes to R&D capacity in Dubai by bridging the gap between industry and academia. We have brought together universities and businesses to collaborate on research solving real-world business problems. Through various initiatives and events, we have encouraged young people to pursue careers in science, which will contribute to R&D in Dubai. And as a business enabler, we have continued to support R&D by allowing companies to grow and thrive in the region. With our business-friendly framework and bespoke infrastructure, we can remove red tape and improve the ease of doing business, so our partners can get set up quickly and focus on R&D.
Do you focus on SMEs or particular types of companies to drive this backward integration?
SMEs are the heart of Dubai’s economy and supporting their growth is crucial to Dubai Science Park. By focusing on emerging and homegrown talent, we have become a key ecosystem enabler for Dubai’s start-up scene and a hub for world-class companies. Dubai Science Park is a broad business community: while 60% of the companies are in the healthcare sector, we are home to food technology, renewable energy, and environmental businesses. Increasingly, there are growing opportunities in digital health as Dubai continues to take a leadership
Through the industrial strategy, Dubai expects to attract USD2.5 billion in investments in the pharmaceutical industry over the next five years, as it ramps up efforts to court international players to open up factories here. As we are working to make Dubai a hub for manufacturing, we have identified pharmaceuticals as a priority subsector. Initially, we were looking at conventional pharmaceutical manufacturing, and we explored some opportunities in generics, mainly driven by insurers and payers, with the government’s support for local tenders. Looking at pharmaceuticals specifically, we identified generics as a good shortterm opportunity. In the medium and long term, we are looking at biosimilars and new-generation sequencing. To this end, we welcomed our first advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing facility to Dubai Science Park in 2018. Pharmax Pharmaceuticals’ USD34-million plant has an annual production capacity of over 200 million tablet and capsule dosage forms and is dedicated to the manufacturing and commercialization of pharmaceuticals targeting chronic conditions prevalent in the Middle East. It is already making a positive contribution to the local economy, directly through job creation and indirectly by helping Dubai become less reliant on pharmaceutical imports. This demonstrates to other pharmaceutical companies that Dubai is a profitable and strategic location for manufacturing and equipped with the infrastructure to support cutting-edge manufacturing.
What are your strategic priorities and vision for Dubai Science Park for 2020?
We will continue to create a business environment that helps companies thrive. In 2018, we launched Advanced Health, a networking platform for UAE healthcare stakeholders to explore important industry issues. Its initial success has given us the confidence to take it to the next level, with exciting talks and networking opportunities planned for our participation at Arab Health 2020. We will also continue the Green Leadership Series, a networking and knowledge-sharing event focused on sustainability and advancing Dubai’s green economy. This is a strategic sector that we want to leverage and stimulate, and we will continue exploring high-growth verticals such as new-generation sequencing. Some of the ideas that we explore are inspired by emerging technologies, so we are flexible and adaptable to meet the demands of our business partners. ✖