GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plans to open a manufacturing facility in the UAE next year and expand an existing one in Saudi Arabia as the UK's biggest drug-maker seeks to boost its sales in the region, said the company's GCC head.
GSK, behind medicines such as Panadol and Augmentin, plans to manufacture three as yet undetermined drugs at the new facility in the UAE, said Andrew Miles, the general manager for GSK in the Arabian Gulf region.
"We believe the UAE still could be a very important strategic hub not only for the GCC but also for the broader region," said Mr Miles.
"For every manufacturing facility that you set up and you are serious about the investment for each one, you have to be thinking of anything north of or around US$100 million," he said when asked to specify the size of GSK's investment in the UAE's manufacturing facility.
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Overall, the pharmaceutical market in the wider Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is forecast to grow to $33.4 billion this year from $32.2bn last year, according to BMI Research, a unit of the Fitch Group. However, low oil prices are impacting the Gulf region, where governments are curtailing public spending on health care.
GSK aims to expand its manufacturing capacity within the region as the GCC governments localise the production of medicines.
The drug maker wants to increase its Jeddah-based facility, which currently accounts for about 80 per cent of the company's supply of medicines to Saudi Arabia.
"It is quite a strategic manufacturing facility for us and we believe it will only increase in importance, particularly given the focus of Vision 2030 and how the government is seeking to localise more medicines in order to provide more access, jobs et cetera in the market place," said Mr Miles.
The kingdom unveiled Vision 2030 last year as a road map to wean the world's biggest oil exporter off energy income by trimming expenditure and creating new revenue streams, including privatisation in the healthcare sector.
Under the 2020 National Transformation Programme, the percentage of private sector contribution in total health care spend is forecast to rise to 35 per cent of the total from the current 25 per cent, which is expected to lead to privatisation of healthcare facilities in the kingdom.
"As oil prices hover where they are today and will likely to continue to be where they are today that is going to mean that the public sector business is going to need to review how it will deploy its own investments in healthcare," said Mr Miles.
GSK's Jeddah facility manufactures both medicines and vaccines. GSK also has a joint venture with the Saudi pharmaceutical company Arabio, which the company would also like to expand over the next few years, he added.
GSK expects its GCC sales, which account for 35 per cent of revenue for Mena and CIS countries, to jump between 9 to 10 per cent a year, above the market rate of growth. He declined to give a revenue figure for the GCC.
"Within GSK, the GCC is also quite an important region in that we represent about 25 per cent of the growth of emerging markets in terms of new product launches," said Mr Miles."That is quite important because it continues to reflect the belief and the receptivity of this part of the world to innovation and to research and development."
The Lowdown
Us
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseqph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Company%20Profile
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New schools in Dubai
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Grand slam winners since July 2003
Who has won major titles since Wimbledon 2003 when Roger Federer won his first grand slam
Roger Federer 19 (8 Wimbledon, 5 Australian Open, 5 US Open, 1 French Open)
Rafael Nadal 16 (10 French Open, 3 US Open, 2 Wimbledon, 1 Australian Open)
Novak Djokovic 12 (6 Australian Open, 3 Wimbledon, 2 US Open, 1 French Open)
Andy Murray 3 (2 Wimbledon, 1 US Open)
Stan Wawrinka 3 (1 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 1 US Open)
Andy Roddick 1 (1 US Open)
Gaston Gaudio 1 (1 French Open)
Marat Safin 1 (1 Australian Open)
Juan Martin del Potro 1 (1 US Open)
Marin Cilic 1 (1 US Open)
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE%3A
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Company%20Profile
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
