JOE HENEIN
With expected pharmaceutical market growth reaching USD50 billion by 2025 and the increasing institutionalization of healthcare systems, there are plenty of healthy choices for pharmaceutical companies in the MENA region.
BIOGRAPHY
Joe Henein is a senior executive with a career of over 35 years in the pharmaceutical industry, covering the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Prior to NewBridge, Henein worked at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, now a part of Pfizer. He assumed many roles in the industry, most notably vice president and global commercial chair for a number of therapeutic areas in Wyeth World Headquarters, like infectious diseases and women's healthcare. Henein served in various Wyeth executive committees such as Global R&D Council, Global Development Strategy Board, and European Operation Council. At the industry level, he also served as vice chair for the PhRMA MEA Committee and chair for the PhRMA MEA Ethics Review Board.
What is your assessment of the pharma market in Dubai and the MENA region?
The pharma market in MENA is currently estimated at roughly USD32 billion and analysts expect it to grow to USD50 billion by 2025. The UAE will lead this growth with countries like Egypt. MENA is one of the fastest-growing emerging markets, driven mainly by sizable population growth, increased life expectancy, greater prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, and greater prioritization of healthcare services among the region's governments. More than 60% of medicines are imported, while local and regional companies' market share is growing steadily, covering mostly generic alternatives of medicines that come off-patent. There are more than 350 million people in this region, almost equal to the US' population. However, the region has widespread income inequality and far less spending per capita on pharmaceuticals than western countries. The global pharma market is estimated to be over USD1 trillion, with the US and China being the two largest, respectively. Meanwhile, MENA represents little less than 2% market share of global pharma spending. The region's dominant health issues are diabetes, hepatitis C, thalassemia, and sickle cell, in addition to other genetic diseases.
What is the main inhibitor of growth of the pharma market in the region?
The pharma industry is affected by prevailing macroeconomics; for example, the drop in oil prices in 2016 and 2017 led to a slowdown in public sector growth and heightened pressure on drug prices. In addition, geopolitical factors play a key role in preventing the region from reaching its full potential. Still, the biggest impediment to growth is access to medicine. The region has a sizable population that is growing, also in age, with many highly prevalent diseases, so access to adequate and newer treatment modalities is key. However, and unfortunately, we still see many patients pay out of pocket, with a number of countries in the region unable to provide necessary coverage to all these patients.
What opportunities do you see in emerging markets?
When I was the head of Wyeth MENA, my company, like other pharma companies, looked east, seeking growth and respite from market uncertainty in Europe and the US. We labeled emerging markets as an “accelerated growth opportunity," MENA being one of them. Many companies shifted their focus to these markets, as they found consumers able to afford largely out-of-pocket spending on its drugs. Soon thereafter some of these emerging markets went from boom to bust, and many suffered downturns or showed weaker growth forecasts. Many healthcare systems struggled to scale up adequately to provide needed care to its patients. Accordingly, this hopeful sentiment by pharma companies did not last long, while the US and EU countries started to do better, as many new products got approved, became available, and attracted attention back to the developed economies. Analysts expect this cycle to return, with strong growth expected to double revenue in the next 10 years in key strategic emerging markets.
Many companies neglect this market. Is that an opportunity for you?
They do not so much neglect it as pursue other priorities. It is expensive and challenging to enter a new market. Most of these innovations I talked about come from small to medium-sized biotech companies, and if they are not acquired by big pharma, they definitely want to focus on the US, large European countries, China, and Japan, and will probably seek to outsource the rest of the regions in the world, including emerging markets. These markets will be our opportunity, as it was for this purpose that NewBridge was created. We are looking into the space and developing a regional platform, bridging innovation from west to east and hence making NewBridge the partner of choice for innovative medicines in MENA.
JOE HENEIN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Interview
Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Former Minister of Economy,
The ministry's way forward is to spur more international collaboration, whether inside the country through FDI flows and encouraging foreign entrepeneurship or outside the country through China's highly-valued Belt and Road Initiative.
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Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Director General, Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA)
In addition to pursuing an aggressively innovative trade and industrial policy, DAFZA is working behind the scenes to boost Dubai's role as the world's most dynamic hub for global halal services.
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Hatem Sleiman, Regional Vice-President, Head of Network, Middle East and South Asia, Western Union
Technology, globalization, and migration will ensure that no matter the nationalization policies carried out by regional governments, the remittance spout is unlikely to dry up any time soon.
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Hamdan AlShamsi, Senior Partner, Hamdan AlShamsi Lawyers & Legal Consultants
With the expected increase of business in the region, Hamdan AlShamsi Lawyers & Legal Consultants stands ready to assist new or current businesses with the implementation of ideas and the protection of IP.
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Marwan Bin Haidar, Executive Vice President of Innovation and the Future, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)
Through its digital arm, DEWA seeks to disrupt the entire business of public utilities by becoming the world's first digital utility to use autonomous systems for renewable energy and storage.
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Will Goodwin, Managing Director, The Priory Group
Social media can lead to living a virtual life, with limited face-to-face interaction, avoidance, and often misconstrued reality. This may lead to mental health-related issues such as depression, loss of individual value, low confidence, and anxiety.
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Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Dubai Duty Free (DDF)
One of the leading airport retailers in the world, DDF currently operates some 40,000sqm of retail space at Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport, reporting sales over USD2.029 billion in 2019.
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