BIO 2014: UAE judges may not yet be ready to deal with biotech cases
IP legislation in the United Arab Emirates is among the strongest in the region but the courts have had so few issues to handle that the country’s lawyers and judges may not yet be well equipped to deal with biotech cases.
That’s the view of Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi, executive director of Dubiotech, the Dubai biotechnology and research park, who was interviewed by LSIPR at the 2014 BIO International Convention in San Diego, California, yesterday (Thursday).
“If lawyers and judges haven’t had many cases to deal with…you have to ask whether they are ready to deal with biotech cases,” said Janahi. However, he added, companies respect the country’s IP regulations and the Ministry of Health abides by them.
“We haven’t had a lot of cases…but we haven’t had any problems,” he said. “People are happy that companies haven’t had major issues but if the judges and lawyers don’t have enough cases to deal with they’re not equipped to deal with biotech issues. It’s the chicken and the egg.”
More generally, Janahi said, innovations can be patented in the UAE, which has taken a mix of US and European laws. “But most people want their patents to be registered in countries with bigger markets so mostly they file patents in countries like America. We have been encouraging them to file international patents because they can’t set up without patent protection, and many UAE university professors have registered their IP,” he said.
Biotech and life sciences are new to Dubai, dating from 2005. “We wanted to make sure we put together a plan that was workable: quick wins; a success story,” said Janahi. So “we attracted many companies, like Pfizer and Amgen; top-tier companies that were previously under-represented…Many believed in the region and have grown their businesses from $5 million to $20 and $30 million or even $50 million in just five years.
“But we don’t just want them to have sales and marketing offices…The natural fit was manufacturing and packaging of their products, in addition to clinical trials. Once we create the ecosystem, we’ll be able to build the R&D system,” Janahi said.
The 2014 BIO International Convention ran from June 23 to June 26 in San Diego.
