OZON Pharmaceuticals has signed a “musataha agreement” to establish a manufacturing facility spanning 150,700 sq.ft. at Dubai Industrial City, the region’s leading industrial and logistics hub.

The new facility at Dubai Industrial City, part of TECOM Group PJSC, represents an investment of more than AED293 million across two phases and is planned to operate at full capacity by next year.

The musataha agreement was signed during an official ceremony attended by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Omar Al Suwaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Alexey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, on the sidelines of INNOPROM 2024 in Ekaterinburg.

Saud Abu Alshawareb, Executive Vice President of Industrial at TECOM Group, signed the agreement with Dr Mustafa Khalaf, General Manager at OZON Pharmaceuticals.

“Localised medical manufacturing strengthens supply chains, response times, and self-sufficiency, all of which are essential levers to embed resilience in the healthcare sector,” Abu Alshawareb said.

He added that achieving such socioeconomic security through the manufacturing sector is among the visions of Operation 300bn, Make it in the Emirates, and Dubai Economic Agenda ‘D33’ strategies.

Dr. Khalaf stated, “Our vision through the launch of this facility is to have a positive impact on the manufacturing and healthcare sectors in the UAE, the wider Middle East, and the CIS regions by ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality medicines. We also aim to foster technological innovation and elevate the standards of healthcare delivery in these regions.”

Phase 1 of the project will be developed through an AED110 million investment and will have a production capacity of more than 300 million tablets a year. Upon completion, the facility will serve key markets in the GCC and regional countries such as Iraq, Morocco, Algeria, and Libya.

In the initial phase, 100 employees across specialisations such as quality assurance, pharmaceutical control, and manufacturing will work at the facility, featuring advanced medicine tracking systems to provide traceability and security through all stages of the product development lifecycle.

OZON Pharmaceuticals is the latest medical leader to join Dubai Industrial City, which is home to more than 1,000 local, regional, and international customers, including Standard Carpets, Himalaya Wellness, IFFCO Group, and Unilever and over 300 operational factories.