While innovation has slowed in the traditional pharmaceutical industry over the past decade, biotechnology is fast becoming the great hope for the future of medicine. To that end, ever since Genetech Inc. founded the industry thirty years ago, millions of dollars have been pouring into biotechnology from all over the globe.
According to Burrill and Company, an industry investment bank, over US $350 billion has been invested in biotechnology so far, and global revenues have risen from US $23 billion in 2000 to more than US $50 billion in 2005.
Today, there are 4000 biotechnology companies in the world: 50% reside in the European Union; another 30% in the United States and the rest are scattered across Asia. Now, biotechnology has come to Dubai in the form of Dubai Biotechnology and Research Park (DuBiotech) – the largest research centre, and free zone, of its kind in the Middle East.
Consuming about 20 million sq ft of land on Umm Suqeim Road, the park will feature a number of laboratories, leading international pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, two office towers and possibly a university and hospital. According to Dr Abdulqader Al Khayat, executive director of DuBiotech, building the infrastructure started two years ago, and should be completed in mid-2007.
“Once it is completed we reckon it will take between 15,000 to 20,000 employees to work in the park,” says Al Khayat, whose medical background includes 20 years of working for the criminal laboratory and forensic medicine department at Dubai police.
The first phase of the project, which consists mainly of the laboratory complex and headquarters, will cost US $400m to finish. There will be four labs and two office towers.
“In the meantime,” says Al Khayat, “companies are licensed in temporary locations. So far up to 16 companies have been licensed and about 12 to 13 are in the pipeline. Some of them are among the top 10 largest biotechnology companies worldwide, such as Serono, Amgen and Eppendorf.”
Just five months ago, Amgen, the world’s largest biotechnology company, announced it was opening regional offices in Dubiotech, from which it will manage all company commercial operations in the Middle East and Africa region. In more recent news, last month saw Genzyme Corporation, a global leader in the field, announce the official opening of its Mideast headquarters within the park.
“We have to do our best to keep those companies and attract others of the same calibre to the region,” says Al Khayat, who acknowledges that attracting such key international names to the new development will allow DuBiotech to benefit from their long-term experience in research, regulation and general conduct in the biotechnology industry.
A relatively new trend, biotechnology utilises advancements in science to facilitate the discovery of genetic material and make it possible to genetically engineer and transfer genes from one organism to the other. It has created a whole new area for products in fields as diverse as health science, environment and agriculture. For the local medical community, Dubiotech holds the promise of both regionally specific data and of progress in treatments for prominent local health issues.
In an economy mainly driven by tourism and real estate, Al Khayat believes it is very important for Dubai, in the long run, to enter this regionally untapped field of biotechnology and utilise the great potential that lies within it.
“This is what opened the opportunity of developing the centre, seeing that biotechnology is going to be a new revolution economically. We have so much information and we know that if we use it properly, we can gain a lot in terms of our social life and economic scale,” elaborates Al Khayat.
The park aims to implement concepts that have been developed in the West, and so set the ground for this field. Al Khayat believes the region cannot afford to ignore the new technology.
“We are trying to set the base,” he says, pointing out that establishing such an industry requires a specific business model and the filling of many gaps like founding a proper scientific background, and recruiting qualified scientists and decision-makers who would transfer conceptual biotechnology into business, in addition to creating a proper regulatory system to avoid misconduct. “Employees at the park will be multinational but mainly from the region,” says Al Khayat, “spanning countries like India, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Europe.”
In terms of business setup, Al Khayat says DuBiotech needs much more than a regular business setup, particularly as it’s a long term investment. “To create this environment, many players should be involved, like the government to grant endowments and proper schools geared towards research, rather than common academic teaching,” he explains. “Our aim is to promote DuBiotech and investment in it, to work with international players to learn, and to have the transfer of technology smoothly move to Dubai.”
The ultimate goal of the park, however, is long term. Al Khayat hopes that one day, perhaps in 15 or 20 years, DuBiotech will be home to a breakthrough research project or discovery. In the meantime, efforts will be directed at establishing a basis by bringing in international players to conduct research, working with local universities to focus on biotechnology, investigating the possibility of conducting joint projects while focusing on issues relevant to the region, and providing the facilities in terms of the equipment and the know-how that will create an innovative mentality in the region.
“We want to develop the park and bring in the best players, to look at Dubai and the UAE as a biotechnology city and not only tourism and real estate. We are also trying to set the pace for the future and lay the ground that will allow our generation to utilise the advancement of biotechnology,” says Al Khayat.
The biotechnology labs, which will require a minimum of 18 months to build, will be run in accordance with international regulations, albeit with slight alterations to fit the region.
“In developing this set of rules DuBiotech’s officials are not following one specific country or regulatory system,” explains Al Khayat, “but creating a system that is a mixture of European and American regulations, which at the same time fits the needs of the region, however, in compliance with international standards.”
“These [regulations] will also consider certain ethical issues relating to Islamic law and Shariah,” adds Al Khayat.
Those regulations, drawn up with Research Triangle Institute International (RTI), were formally released on January 30. Between them, DuBiotech and RTI have drawn up comprehensive codes of practice (COPs) that cover all activities related to clinical research and trials, manufacturing, the environment, and health & safety. The COPs are in-line with those of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), World Health Organisation (WHO), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other major HSE bodies.
“Biotechnology opens a whole new world of economic and social possibility for the region,” says Al Khayat. “A sound regulatory framework is necessary to harness biotechnology’s potential to improve health, enhance quality of life, support the environment and promote a sustainable economy.
“Besides, the regulations will provide a secure and encouraging environment for research and innovation, which is central to the growth of biotechnology,” he adds.
The concept of DuBiotech was envisaged as part of the Government of Dubai’s strategy to create a long-term knowledge-based economy, and was initiated in February of 2005 and officially launched in the same year. Now managed by TECOM Investments, DuBiotech is considering developing a “certain mechanism” with the government of Dubai to have an amount of capital allocated for research, according to Al Khayat. However, the park is also open to working as a joint venture with select companies.
“The land, which was lent by the government, is under development, and we are leasing it so all the revenues we get from the land, sales and business side will all be put into research,” says Al Khayat.
As the first project of its scale in the Middle East, Khayat hopes DuBiotech will encourage Arab countries to look more seriously into biotechnology. He believes it is critical that governments put biotechnology at the top of their future priorities – especially given the field’s immense potential. He also adds that governments should back such projects, and strategies should come from the top, otherwise they will be difficult to implement, given the money that goes into research.
“It’s a very serious matter and I recommend that they [other Arab countries] look at it because, just by benchmarking, almost all European countries have a number of centres,” he points out. “There isn’t a state in the US where there isn’t a biotechnology centre, and they would not do it just for fun.”
Prior to implementing the DuBiotech plan, the team studied similar biotechnology ventures across the globe. Particular attention was paid to projects in the US, UK, Germany, Singapore and Switzerland, and joint ventures and collaborations have already been established with a number of these centres. Future partners will include Frankfurt Innovation Center for Biotechnology, Heidelberg, and the UK Science Park Group.
Talks are still being held with a number of international universities to establish a university in the park that is focused upon research rather than academics.
In the past, the Middle East region, Dr. Al Khayat contends, has paid insufficient attention to the benefits of an established research platform. DuBiotech may represent a new dawn for medical technology in the Gulf.
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