Dubai, UAE; 22 November 2016: Emphasizing innovation as the essential ingredient in creating a healthier, happier UAE, Pfizer – one of the world’s premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies – led an expert panel discussion during today’s Innovation Live! Summit titled “Innovation for a Healthier UAE”.

The Summit is the anchor event for UAE Innovation Week 2016, a celebration of innovation for everyone in the UAE, in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

The experts on the panel included Dr. Zeydan Abuissa, Country Manager and Pfizer Essential Health Lead, Gulf and Levant, and Tom Woolf, Head Coach, Nike Middle East, moderated by Mouna Elhaimoud, a leading journalist and media consultant. The panel discussed the innovative approaches available to the healthcare industry and the public to better manage people’s lifestyles and disease for a healthier, happier life.

A vital outcome of the discussion was that innovation is critical in all industries, but innovation in health means innovation to improve people’s lives. As lifestyle-related diseases become increasingly prevalent and more complex, it is essential to innovate to keep up with the pace of change.

The panel also stated that the UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda aims to achieve a world-class healthcare system in part by reducing lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and this can be achieved through preventive measures and medicine. This will ensure longer, healthier and happier lives for people across communities and will result in the UAE ranking among the best in the world in terms of the quality of our healthcare.

During the discussion, Dr Zeydan Abuissa explained how bringing a medicine to life is no different to any other process of creation. It requires innovation, imagination and relentless perseverance; on average it takes 14 years to bring a medicine to patients.

Dr Zeydan Abuissa said: “Today, we are at a unique point in biomedical innovation, as we now have a fundamentally better understanding of human biology and what causes disease. Pfizer’s purpose is to innovate to bring therapies that significantly improve patients’ lives.  Research & Development is at the heart of fulfilling Pfizer’s purpose as we work to translate advanced science and technologies into the therapies that matter most.”

Dr Zeydan Abuissa continued: “Through working in partnership with everyone – our patients, partners in government, peers in the healthcare sector, and with other businesses across industry sectors – our goal is to ensure that people have access to innovative treatments and quality healthcare.”

Panelist Tom Woolf explained how the convergence of new consumer technology, greater health education and a disease-prevention mindset can help people better manage their health and disease.

Woolf said: “Wellbeing is becoming a higher priority as people become more informed about how their lifestyles can impact their health. Here in the UAE, people are eager to adopt new consumer technologies that enable them to better quantify and manage their lifestyle and health – a good example is wearable technology. If people embrace these tools as well as better understand how they can reduce their risk of preventable diseases like cardiovascular disease, then we can all take greater steps in achieving the UAE’s vision.”

The panel further noted that people already diagnosed with a chronic illness can also use consumer technology to support them in managing their disease by, for example, using automated reminders about visiting their doctor or supporting them to adhere to their medication.

The discussion concluded that the UAE’s vision and leadership supporting greater health education, a proactive mindset to disease prevention and continued innovation in medicine will result in the UAE becoming one of the best countries in the world for quality healthcare.