Medical Tourism Will Help Push UAE Pharma Market to $5.6 Billion by 2020

The pharmaceutical market in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to grow from just over $3 billion in 2015 to $5.7 billion by 2020, driven by increased healthcare expenditure, mandatory health insurance, and growing medical tourism, according to GlobalData.

The company’s latest report states that the UAE is quickly gaining popularity as a medical tourism destination due to its low costs, English-speaking medical staff, and virtually non-existent queues for treatment. The Dubai Health Authority is working to develop the medical tourism sector, aiming to attract 1.3 million medical tourists annually by 2021. The revenue on medical tourism is expected to grow by 13% annually for the next five years.

Another driver of growth is the fact that the UAE generally has a stable political and economic environment, allowing for prosperity, says the report. One major initiative of the UAE government is its encouragement of private sector involvement and investment with the ultimate aim of improving healthcare. To this end, the government has established the Dubai Healthcare City and Dubai Science Park, which are special zones that come with 100% tax redemption and foreign ownership.

Despite the opportunities for growth and prosperity, the market will face a number of threats throughout the forecast period, curbing growth the proliferation of counterfeit drugs, the report states.