In the emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a set of glass towers is slowly rising up over the desert. The half-finished buildings form the skeleton of DuBiotech—a mammoth biotechnology office and research park. And this isn’t the only major biotech initiative in the oil-rich region. Qatar is building a stem-cell bank and attracting biotech companies to tackle genetic diseases, Saudi Arabia is planning Jeddah BioCity, and Oman is developing a marine biotechnology center. Across the Persian Gulf, countries are seeking to diversify their economies—and they’ve tapped biotech as a major focus.
This desire to build the healthcare economy aligns with pharmaceutical company goals for the region. The Middle East and the neighboring continent of Africa have more than 1 billion people. While western countries are reining in healthcare costs, “the Middle East and Africa is one of the very few regions of the world that is ...
