UAE-based Pharmax Pharmaceuticals (Pharmax), a GMP-licensed international manufacturer and distributor of medications, is inching closer to kick start its exports as it looks at expansion into key markets in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region as well as overseas to drive its sales and strengthen its bottomline.

The company has received EU GMP accreditation in February this year and is eyeing to derive 50 per cent of its revenues from exports, Madhukar Tanna, CEO of Pharmax Pharmaceuticals told the Gulf Industry, while adding that the current focus is to intensify efforts to tap the UAE market.

“Pharmax will be exporting affordable efficacious medications to Mena markets and further afield. We obtained GMP license in Q2, 2018 and have started regulatory filing. Currently, the UAE is the focus. In the long run, we expect 50 per cent of the revenue to be derived from exports,” said Tanna in an interview.

According to Tanna, Pharmax will begin exporting its branded generic medication into key export markets. “We are already in talks with a number of countries in the GCC, including Saudi Arabia. We aim to be able to distribute medication within the region, outside the UAE, within the first half of the year. We are also very close to signing a distribution agreement in all the GCC countries and Levant countries,” said Tanna.

Tanna: focussing on the UAE , for now

Further afield, Pharmax has set its sights on Europe, which, according to the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, imported pharmaceuticals valued at Dh1.2 trillion in 2017.

“The Pharmax facility and equipment meet global stringent regulatory standards, including those that are set by the EU,” Tanna said. “In February 2019, we received EU GMP accreditation. We are currently exploring a number of options with the goal of securing a partner in Europe through whom we can distribute our branded generic medications into Europe by the end of the year,” he added.

Headquartered in Dubai, Pharmax manufactures and supplies branded generics and complex generics. The Pharmax range provides treatment options for chronic illnesses found in the UAE, Middle East and around the globe, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mental health conditions and neurological disorders, among others.

The company opened its new production facility, which has been built at an investment of Dh125 million ($34.1 million), at Dubai Science Park (DSP) in 2018. Construction of the facility began in 2015 as a joint venture between Al Ittihad Drug Store, a distributor of medicines in the UAE, and two of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Morocco - Cooper Pharma and Bottu Pharmaceuticals.

The factory is equipped with the latest European technology, meeting stringent global regulatory standards, and is set to increase its current annual capacity of over 300 million tablet and capsule dosage forms, to over 900 million within the next few years. The company also plans to offer additional dosage forms and delivery methods in the future.

“There is one plant in the UAE, which is the Pharmax headquarters and manufacturing facility. For the foreseeable future, all medications will be produced locally – both for the UAE market and export markets,” Tanna said.

Pharmax Pharmaceuticals will increase the range of targeted diseases for which it manufactures medicine, with the focus for the first quarter of the current year on drugs for the treatment of mental health conditions, such as mood disorders, depression, bipolar disease and general anxiety disorders, in addition to neurological illnesses, such as migraine, neuropathic pain, epilepsy and Alzheimer’s.

The second quarter of 2019 will see further expansion into the manufacture and commercialisation of medications for the treatment of cardiological and gastroenterological illnesses. Drugs indicated for the treatment of metabolic disorders, such as high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes will be launched in the latter half of 2019.

“Within the next 12 months, Pharmax will have registered and commercialised ten new products in the UAE, spanning a range of chronic illnesses. Our focus will remain on increasing the availability of locally-manufactured, high-quality, affordable generic and complex generic drugs,” Tanna said.

Pharmax: capacity expansion of tablet and capsule dosage forms is on the agenda

It is currently in the developmental phase for the production of generic migraine medicine in order to bring the cost of treatment down for sufferers across the region.

The company is aiming to meet the growing demand for locally-manufactured, high-quality, affordable, branded generic medication and thereby significantly reduce the dependence on imports of related products from abroad.

In 2017, almost 90 per cent of pharmaceuticals were imported and 60 per cent of those were generic drugs in the UAE, according to Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi, managing director of Dubai Science Park and Chairing Member of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Equipment Taskforce of the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030, which seeks to reduce the country’s reliance on imports of pharmaceutical products.

Business Monitor International research forecasts the UAE’s pharmaceutical and healthcare sector is expected to grow by over five per cent by the end of 2018 to Dh65.68bn, reaching Dh78.13bn by 2021.

According to the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers Association Gulf Forum, the pharmaceutical market alone in the UAE is expected to grow from Dh9.61 billion in 2016 to Dh14.11 billion by 2020, driven by the country’s growing population, changing morbidity, increased healthcare spend, mandatory health insurance and growing medical tourism.

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, in association with the UAE’s industrial hub JAFZA, has set a target of attracting more than 75 major pharmaceutical firms by 2021, with investments of up to Dh2 billion annually.

The ambitious growth targets will be supported by a number of new appointments, including a new sales manager, product manager and product specialists. “The Pharmax team will increase by 30 per cent in 2019 and all staff will be based out of the Dubai headquarters, from where they will serve other key markets,” Tanna added.