UBM EMEA announces the rebranding and relocation of CPhI Istanbul into CPhI Middle East & Africa, which will open next year (3-5 September 2018) at ADNEC Centre, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It builds on the success of the iconic CPhI brand in the region and represents a natural evolution to better represent attendees.

The event is designed to increase partnerships, business opportunities and meet the needs of the entire region, which imports large quantities of ingredients, and relies on a network of distributors and advanced finished dose manufacturers – increasingly important as generics consumption rises.

The pharma market in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) economies are a mixture of developed, high-income healthcare systems, coupled with high growth regions in North Africa. Total pharma sales are an impressive US$32 billion – Middle East countries account for US$21.3 billion and North Africa US$10.7 billion – with a compound annual growth rate of 7 percent predicted through to 2020. Collectively, with rapidly increasing pharma sales in many gentrifying African nations, along with high per capita spends and universal healthcare in Middle East countries the region offers a robust opportunity for pharma expansion.

"CPhI Istanbul has been a huge success since its launch just 5 years ago, growing to nearly 5,000 attendees, which is clear testament to the interest and developments in pharma regionally. Relocating the event to Abu Dhabi in 2018 is a natural progression. It will attract the same audiences from Turkey and neighbouring countries, with the new location also bringing in an increased number of affluent and high growth exhibitors and attendees from the Middle East and Africa" commented Andreas Mavrommatis, marketing director at UBM EMEA.

The event will attract leaders and key decision makers of the pharma industry from the Middle East and Africa, bringing the expertise and reach of the CPhI brand to the heart of this new pharma hub. Running alongside the exhibition, there will be content sessions on the latest trends, keynote addresses, and numerous networking opportunities. CPhI Middle East & Africa 2018 comes with the backing of regional government and pharma associations, and is expected to attract 200 local, regional and international exhibitors from 30 countries and 5,000 attendees.

Co-located events will include ICSE, P-MEC, Innopack and FDF providing the opportunity to meet with regional drug manufacturers, suppliers of pharma ingredients, distributors, finished dose manufacturers, and companies involved in pharma machinery, packaging and contract services.

The finished dose formulation sector is expanding quickly in the Middle East, in particular, with a number of plants being commissioned in the last few years. In the UAE, the Government also gives fast track approval to locally manufactured drugs, which is helping establish a new manufacturing base in the country – with the added potential for exports to the Gulf Cooperation Council.

"CPhI has done extremely well in the past few years cementing its global influence in the MENA region. But relocation accelerates this development, providing a more central location in the Middle East and increasing the potential to attract new audiences. Many of the world’s largest pharma companies have regional headquarters in the United Arab Emirates and such is the pace of developments in the Middle Eastern and African economies, we expect this to be one of the fastest growing events in global pharma", concluded Orhan Caglayan, Brand Director CPhI Middle East & Africa at UBM EMEA.

Attendees at the event will be able to listen and partake in specialist sessions, with experts from solution providers, science and technology firms, consultants, government representatives and big pharma operating in the region. CPhI Middle East and Africa is especially tailored to optimize existing relationships and create new strategic alliances to ensure future business success.