British-based pharma company opens office in Dubai

The international, niche pharmaceutical business AMCo has opened an office in Dubai to make more of its medicines available to doctors, hospitals and healthcare professionals in the Middle East. Dubai will become the hub for AMCo’s expansion into the region and North Africa, including Saudi Arabia and Algeria.

AMCo already has distributors in the region but believes an office closer to the countries in which it works will give patients better access to a wider selection of its medicines.

AMCo’s Chief Commercial Officer Steve Higgins said: “We have such a wide product range, from treatments for patients with thyroid problems, through to the eye disease conjunctivitis, which is common in the Middle East. We will be in a better position to make these available in the region if we are based there.

“We will also be closer to the people we want to help and to the doctors, nurses and pharmacists who are looking for cost-effective ways of treating patients.

“Dubai is an excellent location with strong transport links and communications across the region.”

Countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, have a mix of private and public healthcare. The latter is run by the government.

AMCo operates in 112 countries and has recently expanded its product range to include the medicines Fucithalmic, which treats conjunctivitis. Thirty per cent of worldwide sales of the treatment are in the Middle East. If untreated, the disease can cause blindness in severe cases.

The Dubai office will be headed up by AMCo’s Middle East and North Africa general manager Werner Rooseboom, who has extensive experience of the pharmaceutical industry in the region.