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Week In Review | 31 December,
2006 - 6 January, 2007
Week
In Review:
A new weekly column on Dubai Health &
News which takes you beyond the headlines to analyze what happened in
the UAE health sector and why.
2007 to open up new
vistas for private healthcare
By Debasree
S., Contributing Editor
UK's Moorfields Eye Hospital in
tie-up with DHCC
The year 2007 opened with a spate of good news for the booming private
health care sector in the UAE. In a significant international tie-up,
UK's prestigious National Health Service (NHS) has joined hands with the
Dubai Healthcare City to open the Moorfields Eye Hospital in Dubai,
filling the vacuum of much-needed ophthalmic and surgery facilities in
the emirate.
The renowned eye hospital, which will be the first NHS overseas hospital
in Dubai is scheduled to open its doors at the Al Razi medical complex
during the second quarter of 2007. The international venture forms a
part of the Phase I development of the Dubai Healthcare City, an
upcoming centre for holistic health and wellness.
Neopharma & Biocon to Manufacture Biomedicines
In the second landmark announcement this week, the Abu-Dhabi-based
New Medical Centre Group has announced that it will set up a
multi-billion dollar bio-technology plant at the Dubai Technology and
Research Park (DuBiotech), the region's bio-tech hub currently under
construction.
"This will be a multi-billion dollar project and the first of its
kind in the region," said Dr. BR Shetty, Vice Chairman of the NMC
Group. Dr. Shetty's pharmaceutical plant Neopharma recently signed an
agreement with leading bio-technology major Biocon to produce
biomedicine in Abu Dhabi.
Through this joint venture, the two companies will leverage on each
other's strengths to manufacture and market bio-pharmaceutical products
for the GCC region. The joint venture will bring out life-saving drugs
in the field of oncology, diabetes, auto-immune disorders and
cardiology. The product mix will also include anti-obesity drugs and new
generation immunosuppressants.
Announced in February 2005, DuBiotech is a science and business park
dedicated to the biotech industry, set within a free zone
infrastructure. US -based project managers Parsons and CUH2A, the
world's largest professional services firm dedicated to planning and
design of science and technology facilities are currently carrying out
the master plan of DuBiotech.
Insulin Inhalers Approved
The UAE Ministry of Health (MOH) has approved of insulin inhalers for
diabetics who can now junk painful injections in favor of the
much-easier to use and less intrusive inhalers. Exubera, the first
inhaled form of insulin, has won the approval of the Higher Drugs
Registration Committee at the MOH, disclosed Dr. Issa bin Jakka Al
Mansouri , Director of the Drug Control Department at the MOH. The
insulin inhalation dry powder is been hailed as a revolution in diabetes
medication. The initiative augurs well for the substantially large (19.5
per cent) of the diabetic population in the UAE. Manufactured by Pfizer,
the inhalation powder has been approved by the US Food and Drug
Administration for the treatment of Type I and Type II diabetes.
UAE Gets Vaccine for Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer, is one of the primary causes of death among women
worldwide with approximately 2.3 million women being currently diagnosed
and 800 dying out of the disease everyday. In the UAE, the Cancer
Registry Programme has indicated that the number of cervical cancer
patients have tripled in 2005 when compared to the previous years. This
has prompted the UAE Ministry of Health to acquire the first and only
vaccine against cervical cancer. The UAE is so far, the only Middle East
country to introduce Gardasil (a breakthrough vaccine that prevents
cancer). Distributed by Merck Sharpe and Dohme, Gardasil, is now
available in 33 countries around the globe including the UAE.
Visit of International Doctors
The UAE Ministry of Health Visiting Doctors' Programme (VDP) will see 15
renowned American and European doctors coming to Dubai to look into
critical cases and conduct sensitive surgeries. An official source from
the MOH divulged this week, that Dr. Milomir Ninkovic, plastic surgery
specialist, Munich University Hospital, Germany, Dr. David Coats and Dr.
Scott Olisky, pediatric ophthalmology specialists and Dr. Stuart
Goldstein, pediatric nephrology specialist from Texas Children's
Hospital will be among the 15 visiting doctors who visit different
hospitals in the UAE to treat complicated cases.
Walking to A Healthier Lifestyle
Even as a sedentary lifestyle and urban stress takes its toll on UAE
residents, Dubai Police has taken a pioneering step to launch the
"Take a Step for a Better Life" program to encourage people to
undertake physical exercise or sporting activities. Studies have shown
that in the country, 78 per cent of the men and 86 per cent of the women
do not engage in any sport at all and constitute the high-risk group for
cardiac problems. The first phase will target Dubai Police employees,
the second, private and public sector employees and finally the third
will involve traditional neighborhoods. Participants of the program will
get an opportunity to interact with health experts to understand the
need to walk to keep cardiac problems at bay.
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