The National Bank approves 18 recommendations to achieve UAE security for pharmaceutical industries and medical supplies

The Federal National Council approved the recommendations of the topic “Government Policy in Achieving National Security for Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Supplies,” which it discussed during its third session of the third regular session of the eighteenth legislative term, held on January 7, in the presence of the Minister of Health and Community Protection, Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, the Minister of State and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Pharmaceutical Corporation, and Saeed bin Mark Al Hajri.

The Council adopted 18 recommendations, in preparation for submitting them to the Council of Ministers, during the discussion of this issue within the axes: sustainability of the pharmaceutical industries and medical supplies, enhancing access to medicines and medical supplies and their impact on the quality of life, and legislation promoting investment and innovation and ensuring the quality of the pharmaceutical industries and medical supplies.

Regarding the sustainability of the pharmaceutical industries and medical supplies, the Council recommended the importance of strategic storage of effective raw materials sufficient for at least five years in cooperation with the pharmaceutical industries sector according to the sector’s manufacturing needs. And establishing long-term partnerships with countries that produce these materials, such as China, India and Brazil, in order to achieve drug security in the country, and by directing the production of national pharmaceutical factories towards specialization in production while giving priority to innovative biological medicines by concluding partnerships with international factories as a first stage, and then transferring manufacturing technology within the country.

He also recommended encouraging insurance companies to adopt local medical products as part of their medical coverage, giving local medical products priority in government tenders, and adopting the scientific name of the drug in medical prescriptions without referring to the trade name. To enhance the status of national products, and to develop an awareness strategy to raise community awareness of the importance of national industries for pharmaceutical products and their quality, by highlighting the quality of national products, providing transparent information about manufacturing, control and quality standards, establishing specialized national institutes, and developing academic and applied programs in pharmaceutical industry professions by strengthening the partnership between universities and the pharmaceutical industry sector, with the aim of identifying the actual needs of the sector for artistic and technical specializations that are not currently available in universities and academic institutions, and by developing a comprehensive strategy to attract national cadres in the pharmaceutical industry sector, These include providing scholarship incentives, training programs, financial and tax incentives for companies that employ high percentages of citizens, and awareness programs about the importance of pharmaceutical industry professions, their future prospects, and their vital role in supporting the health and economic security of the country, and by enhancing cooperation between academic institutions and health facilities by establishing specialized units for clinical research and benefiting from the model of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States, and its important role in providing an integrated research environment, and by establishing advanced laboratories and research centers in the country to support research and development processes in the pharmaceutical industry sector through cooperative programs. It brings together the government, universities and pharmaceutical companies, and creates specialized research funding funds to support innovation in the pharmaceutical sector through business incubator programs and financing research projects in the areas of drug development and manufacturing.

The recommendations included: working to attract research competencies and specialized skills in the fields of pharmaceutical industries, by adopting successful international practices such as “visiting scientist” programs, partnerships with international research centers, and establishing a unified national platform for data, by enhancing cooperation between governmental and local agencies, academic institutions, hospitals, and pharmaceutical factories; To ensure data integrity in tracking drug availability, monitoring supply disruptions, improving government procurement, and enhancing transparency in pricing and drug registration; To support the formulation of national health policies.

In the axis of enhancing access to medicines and medical supplies and their impact on the quality of life, the recommendations called for reducing the prices of medicines, especially innovative medicines, through cooperation and coordination with international pharmaceutical companies that manufacture innovative medicines, which chose the UAE as their regional headquarters, and by launching awareness campaigns directed at the public that mimic the Singaporean model, to warn of the dangers of purchasing medicines from unofficial sources, publishing the names of banned medicines that are revealed, educating patients on how to verify the quality of medicines and their approved sources, tracking the sources of buying and selling medicines through websites, and setting standards. Approved and announced to license websites that are authorized to sell medical products, and adopting an official logo to indicate approved pharmacies and websites similar to the experience of the European Union.

The recommendations were confirmed in the axis of legislation promoting investment and innovation and ensuring the quality of pharmaceutical industries and medical supplies, by including locally manufactured generic medicines among the medical products, which are covered by the fast track for marketing approval, in the executive regulations being prepared for the law, within the framework of Article (14) of Federal Decree Law No. (38) of 2024. This will contribute to accelerating the entry of generic medicines into the local market, ensuring the provision of safe and effective medicines at reasonable prices, and establishing a national unit to harmonize accreditation. International within the Emirates Pharmaceutical Corporation; To enhance cooperation with bodies such as the FDA and EMA by signing agreements or memorandums of understanding, which allow the exchange of information, joint evaluations and reviews of medicines manufactured and registered in the UAE, which accelerates the approval process and facilitates the process of accepting local medicines in global markets.

It also stressed the need to provide effective investment incentives that include energy subsidies, the provision of land at preferential prices, customs exemptions on raw materials, and tax incentives related to manufacturing, research and development, through the system of incentives and benefits that will be issued by the Council of Ministers in accordance with Article (30) of Federal Decree Law No. (38) of 2024 AD, and to include the circulation of herbal products and folk remedies and their licensing and control mechanisms in clear texts through Federal Decree Law No. (38) of the year 2024 regarding medical products, the pharmacy profession and pharmaceutical facilities.