The UK enjoyed its most successful Arab Health exhibition on record, when over 190 healthcare companies showcased their pioneering products at the largest and most prestigious trading platform in the Middle East.
With a wealth of healthcare research, development and innovation, the UK is home to some of the world’s most distinguished scientists and innovators and Arab Health allowed exhibitors to highlight exactly how their pioneering products are improving healthcare around the world.
Held in Dubai and celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, Arab Health is the leading event for healthcare professionals in the Middle East and attracted over 55, 000 visitors from over 145 countries.
Professor Lord Ara Darzi, Business Ambassador and eminent British surgeon, also visited the exhibition to support the work of his UK colleagues and learn more about the innovative products on show.
The UK had its largest presence at the show this year and with continued support from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the UK Government’s international business development body, companies highlighted exactly why they are world leaders in healthcare innovation and excellence.
Head of Life Sciences Sector Team at UKTI, Jane Grady, said:
“It has been a great year for UK companies and we are delighted with the vast amount of business opportunities that have been generated between the Middle East and the UK. The UK is a world leader in healthcare innovation and Arab Health offers a perfect opportunity to share these pioneering products with the rest of the world. “
An example of the success UK companies have enjoyed is Halifax based Sidhil who launched their award winning advanced acute hospital bed, that combines practicality, world-class infection control and advanced ergonomics, at the show.
The pioneering bed attracted huge amounts of interest from across the region at the show and the company is currently in discussions with a Middle Eastern Military Hospital to exclusively design 500 bespoke beds for when it opens in 18 months time.
Making a debut at Arab Health, a Watford based company showcased their pioneering Lillipops Iced Soothies at the show. The delicious ice pops come in five refreshing flavours and have been exclusively designed to alleviate morning sickness.
Owner Denise Sodens, said: “There is nothing like Lillipops anywhere in the world, which is why it attracted so much interest at the exhibition. We spoke to lots of Middle Eastern doctors at the show, who are all keen to introduce them into their region, many of which expressed interest in using them to help other patients such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. This is a great avenue for us to go down and I look forward to progressing this over the next year.”
Printed wristband manufacturer Brenmoor from Skipton also enjoyed great success at the exhibition. Showcasing at Arab Health for the first time, the company signed an order on the second day of the show for 100,000 wristbands and are now looking to roll out patient identification across the Middle East.
Paul Brennan of Brenmoor, said: “Arab Health was the ideal platform for us to exhibit wristbands which have been designed to stop patients being wrongly identified and mismatched whilst they are in hospital care. There is an urgent need to reduce identification errors in the vast majority of hospitals throughout the world and we believe that printed identification bands will provide that solution, ensuring the right patient gets the right care.
“We are already in advanced discussions with a number of companies from across the Middle East who are eager to supply our wristbands to hospitals across the region.”
The UK is a world leader in healthcare research, development and innovation and is home to some of the world’s most distinguished scientists and innovators. The UK medical technology sector consists of 2771 companies generating £10.6bn of turnover and has a large portion of the world’s most innovative medical technology SME’s, multinationals and leading R&D centres.
