The UAE has announced it is setting up the world’s first free zone dedicated to the biotechnology industry.

The Dubai Biotechnology and Research Park (DuBiotech) will create a comprehensive infrastructure and environment to develop biotechnology in the region. It will be built in several phases on a 300-hectare area near the Dubailand project, the Dubai government said.
Upon completion, the park development will cover over 30 million sq ft of built-up area. Its infrastructure offering will comprise custom-made research and development (R&D) facilities such as labs, clean rooms and incubators, office space and residential facilities. The first development of DuBiotech will be ready by early 2006.
 The park will comprise two main initiatives – an industry cluster and the Foundation for Research and Innovation (FRI).
As part of developing a cluster, DuBiotech will seek to attract a synergistic mix of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies active in discovery, R&D, testing, production, storage, sales and distribution.
It will also attract companies offering business support services for this industry such as legal and venture capital (VC) firms specialising in the biotech industry, educational and training institutions focused on biotech, and equipment, materials and consumables suppliers.
The other initiative, FRI, will be a specialised organisation focusing on government-funded research and development in select fields such as medical genetics, plant biotechnology encompassing food and agriculture, environmental and equine-related biotechnology, drug discovery, pharmaceutical research, stem cell research, infectious diseases and forensic research.
Incubator facilities within the Foundation will help innovative new projects develop into productive and profitable ventures. Business development and administrative assistance offered by the Foundation will allow start-ups to concentrate on their core competencies.
Announcing the project, General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, said the Dubai Biotechnology Initiative would create “an ideal platform for the regional and international scientific community to interact closely with regards to one of sciences that is strongly linked to the Knowledge Age.”
Sheikh Mohammed added: “I want the Dubai Biotechnology Initiative to be an incubator for researchers and scientists and a centre for production, creativity and development.”
DuBiotech will be headed by Dr. Abdulqader Al Khayat who recently left his position as Director General of Dubai Police’s General Department of Forensic Administration to take over as Executive Director of the new initiative. Dr. Al Khayat brings with him over 20 years of experience in the fields of genetics and forensics.
“We are confident that DuBiotech will become the centre of excellence for biotechnology in the region”, said Dr. Al Khayat. “We will achieve this by creating the right business and regulatory environment, developing state-of-the-art scientific facilities, securing Government funding, and maintaining an unwavering focus on developing R&D within the region”.
The park will have a regulatory framework, modelled on international best-practices. The key focus of the regulations will be on upholding the highest ethical, environmental, health and safety standards. DuBiotech will also develop comprehensive guidelines to ensure this.
To encourage new ventures, DuBiotech will have a system in place that will provide funding and financial assistance to research initiatives, incubators and joint projects. An investment committee will be set up to make funding decisions after conducting due diligence on business plans.
Members of the park can avail themselves of a host of support facilities and services. Areas have been set aside for companies that wish to construct their own buildings.  Dedicated production, warehousing and distribution areas will be created. Clean rooms, vivariums and specialised equipment will be available. Other common facilities will include a library, video-conferencing, auditorium, theatre, meeting rooms, restaurants, retail banking and mailroom. Also planned for the future are botanical gardens and a museum.
The park will also provide all the benefits enjoyed by companies in the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone. These include 100 per cent exemption on corporate and personal tax guaranteed by the Dubai Government for 50 years, 100 per cent ownership of their business, 100 per cent repatriation of capital and profits, no currency restrictions, a one-stop-shop of support services, simplified incorporation and a fast-track visa service.
In the long term, DuBiotech will provide a rich environment for networking and collaboration within the industry. To establish and promote links with the global biotech community, it will build affiliations and partnerships and pursue collaboration with renowned universities, specialised medical institutions, international NGOs and other leading biotechnology parks and clusters.
“DuBiotech seeks to provide a long-term view for the region by providing not just for the next generation but the generations that will follow it,” said Dr. Alkhayat. “The initiative is more than an economic venture and will have a strong social focus,” he added.
The park will work closely with academic institutions in the UAE and elsewhere in the GCC region and beyond to develop programmes that will enhance biotechnology knowledge and bring its benefits to our society, economy and environment. DuBiotech will also make efforts to engage the local community so that biotechnology advances can make a positive impact on our quality of life. While announcing the park, Sheikh Mohammed said it came at a time of great progress achieved by the UAE.
“We now have a well-developed electronic infrastructure that compares well with similar infrastructures in the developed countries. Our economy has now become a modern economy, which relies on advanced technology,” he observed.
That progress came about though hard work, decisive actions and meeting challenges. “We have been working very hard on taking our country and society to the Knowledge Age. It is a historic transformation as it entails reconsidering all our activities, regulations, rules for work and education as well as the structure of our government and economy,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
“We have been challenging ourselves, and challenging time and have successfully made it, as we have built the solid foundations required for this transformation.”
Sheikh Mohammed noted that the UAE had experienced a great boost in the gross domestic product, high levels of growth and increasing direct foreign investments, all of which had reinforced the UAE’s standing in the region and the world.
“However, in spite of all what we have successfully achieved, we are still at the beginning of the road,” he said.
Commenting on the latest initiative, he said: “There is no doubt that you all understand the significance of this project and the vitality of biotechnology, as it is one of the main keys to the future. Since the discovery of DNA, science has made great breakthroughs in the fields of health, agriculture and production. The scope of these applications is increasing every day. Biotechnology has become one of the determinants of development in the Knowledge Age.
“Thus, it is impossible to progress in this age without directly incorporating biotechnology. This is exactly what we aim to achieve by launching the ‘Dubai Biotechnology Initiative’. It will serve as another pillar in our edifice of knowledge that benefits both the society and the economy.
“I look forward to the outcome of this Initiative. I have high hopes and I can clearly see its positive impact on the UAE and the whole region. Dubai Biotechnology Initiative follows in the steps of Dubai Internet City, e-Government and Dubai Media City. Like them, it will spread the modern technology culture — which put the UAE on the map as a role model for the region and the world and made it a pioneer in the field of information and communication technology,” said Sheikh Mohammed.
And, in order to achieve that, we will ensure a suitable environment and the basic infrastructure that will attract the best scientists, research centres and biotechnology laboratories.
“I want the Dubai Biotechnology Initiative be a centre for civilisation and science in the UAE and to benefit the wider world. I wish all involved in the Dubai Biotechnology Initiative the best of luck.”