Novartis seeks to close gap with U.S. in Gulf drug approvals
Mohamed Ezz Eldin, Head of Novartis’s Gulf operations (left), with Dr. Ayman Al Naeem, Vice President of the Emirates Dermatology Society(Omnia Al Desoukie)
Novartis, Europe’s second-largest drugmaker, is seeking to obtain broader rights from regulators to sell its newest medicines in the UAE and neighboring Gulf countries as soon as they are approved in the U.S.
Mohamed Ezz Eldin, a 25-year Novartis veteran who runs operations in the Gulf, said the Swiss company is also tapping into genetic data with partners from the region to develop new treatments for rare diseases and illnesses prevalent in the Middle East.
“Our key focus is ensuring that patients eligible for our medicines have access,” Ezz Eldin said in an interview with The Circuit. The Novartis executive, who is based in Dubai, signed a research partnership agreement this week with the Emirates Dermatology Association.
Among the company’s priority activities in the Gulf are development of advanced digital health technologies, AI-based diagnostics and nuclear medicine treatments for cancer, Ezz Eldin said.
The company is also working with the Emirati Genome Program, which analyzes genetic data collected from donors to conduct research with government health authorities and other pharmaceutical firms. Novartis is also supporting the Abu Dhabi Investment Office’s Health, Endurance Longevity and Medicine cluster, known as HELM, in which the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund is a strategic partner.
The UAE, which aspires to become a regional center for biotech development, expects the genome program to yield insights into disease onset and progression, the impact on high-risk populations, and possible new treatments.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What are your priorities for growth in the Gulf?
Our key focus is ensuring that patients eligible for our medicines have access. We partner with authorities and societies to expand access to innovative medicines. We aim to ensure that every eligible patient can access our therapies and adhere to treatment. Access, bringing innovation to the UAE and the GCC, and patient education are core to what we do. In the UAE, patients have almost simultaneous access to medicines after FDA approval. Through partnerships with authorities, we ensure patient and disease awareness to support access.
What areas of research is Novartis engaged with in the region?
AI applied to research is one. One of our most important key performance indicators is how fast our innovative medicines and advanced therapies are available in the UAE. Recently, the UAE was the second or third globally to register and make available several of our medicines, such as cell and gene therapies. Advanced therapies like radioligand therapy for prostate cancer were available in the UAE almost simultaneously with the U.S. and Europe. Speed of registration, availability, reimbursement, and patient access are critical KPIs for us.
You’ve spoken about the importance of regional partnerships. Which organizations is Novartis working with?
Our partnerships extend across a broad spectrum. We are proud to partner with authorities across the Emirates in areas like disease awareness and patient support programs. We have a partnership with the Emirates Dermatology Society focused on disease awareness, education, and degeneration. We also partnered with the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi on drug establishment.
Across different therapy areas, we focus on access to innovation, patient support programs, disease awareness, and other activities. We recently expanded our clinical research activities here. We are proud to have evidence generation, real-world evidence studies, and clinical trials. We also partnered with the DOH on the genomic project they are running.
What does Novartis’ genetic research in the Gulf entail?
We are in a collaborative phase with the Department of Health and other global pharma companies to identify research questions that we can solve together. Initially, we are assessing the linkage between genomic profiling, electronic medical records, and biobank data. After this phase, we aim to launch individual research projects to understand disease onset, high-risk populations, and disease progression, with the goal of prevention and individualized treatment.