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The healthcare sector in the UAE is undergoing a fundamental transformation, driven by recent legislative reforms and an evolving regulatory landscape. Central to this shift are the amendments to the Federal law on Medical Products, the Pharmacy Profession, and Pharmaceutical Establishments (the Pharma Law), which was first amended and restated under Federal Law No. 8 of 2019 and more recently under Federal Law No. 38 of 2024.
These changes reflect the UAE’s broader strategic objective of driving healthcare innovation, supporting pharmaceutical manufacturing, and encouraging life sciences investment. The amendments to the Pharma Law represent a significant milestone in modernising the legal and commercial framework governing pharmaceutical and medical product activities.
To support investment opportunities from global pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, the Pharma Law introduces a paradigm shift in ownership structures. Historically, medical warehouses, medical stores, and pharmaceutical establishments were required to be wholly owned by UAE nationals.
This restriction effectively limited foreign pharmaceutical companies from operating through local distributors or agents.
The new Pharma Law delegates the determination of UAE national participation in such entities to the relevant local authorities (the Departments of Economic Development of each emirate), allowing them to specify the percentage of national ownership or, where permitted, to allow for full foreign ownership.
This development enables multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare companies to move away from the traditional distribution model towards a direct ownership and operational structure in the UAE.
This change is expected to result in greater alignment between local operations and global corporate strategies, increased investment in local infrastructure, and improved responsiveness to market needs, with many multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare companies already reorganising their business operations accordingly.
Another key regulatory evolution introduced under the amended Pharma Law framework is the requirement for companies to appoint at least two importers of healthcare products. This change will make the supply chain more reliable, curb monopolies, and boost healthy competition among importers and distributors.
Noting that in practice, many companies have struggled to meet this requirement due to long-standing agency arrangements.
Furthermore, the redistribution of competencies between the Ministry of Health and Prevention and the Emirates Drug Establishment has refined the regulatory oversight of the pharmaceutical sector.
This shift is creating a more specialised and collaborative environment, where industry participants can engage more effectively with the regulators.
UAE’s focus on technology has also impacted the healthcare sector. With huge investments led by UAE sovereign funds in AI to blockbuster deals with technology giants, the UAE has secured a spot among the world leaders in technology and we’re seeing results in healthcare in areas such as integration of AI and big data for improved decision-making, the expansion of telemedicine and remote patient monitoring, and the growing use of the internet of medical things (IoMT) with devices like wearables.
The UAE government has also introduced incentives to encourage companies to transfer know-how, introduce advanced technologies and establish local manufacturing capabilities. These incentives aim to localise production, strengthen supply chain resilience, and reduce dependency on imports.
Saudi Arabia is taking key steps to boost the healthcare sector
Saudi Arabia is also taking major steps forward. Saudi Arabia aims to be at the forefront of a global healthcare transformation, driven by its ambitious Vision 2030. This initiative is propelling unprecedented changes across the sector, resulting in a dynamic and high-growth environment. The focus is on creating a more private-sector-driven, patient-centric, and digitally advanced model.
This transformation is vital to address the high demand for healthcare services, ensure greater resilience within the system, and ultimately improve public health outcomes.
To support this transformation, local regulations and policies are actively incentivising the move towards privatisation. This includes promoting public-private partnerships (PPPs), localising production, and making substantial investments in digital transformation and workforce development.
The Ministry of Health is corporatising its delivery into independent provider networks, and the government is facilitating increased private sector involvement through management contracts and ownership.
Incentives are being created to attract private investment and participation.
The government is investing heavily in digital health initiatives such as unified electronic health records, telemedicine, and AI to improve efficiency and access, particularly for remote areas.
Finally, there is a strong push to increase the number of qualified Saudi citizens in the healthcare sector through specialised training, higher licencing standards, and making the profession more attractive.
