QLife Pharma CEO Dr Ahmed Hamad Almohanadi (right) with Dr Hashim Ahmed, Managing General Director for QLife Pharma in Doha yesterday.
QLife Pharma, the first licensed pharmaceutical manufacturing company in Qatar, is set to go for the US FDA approval of its drug products in a bid to export to neighbouring countries in the Middle East, Africa, and beyond.
In an interview with The Peninsula, QLife Pharma CEO Dr. Ahmed Hamad Almohanadi said the company which has been selling its generic medicine lines to institutes, pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics here will now also diversify to new markets outside the country.
He said, “We are keen to deliver the best quality and affordable medicines with much lower prices. And we look forward to giving our medicines to international bodies and have our facility and products qualified and certified by international organisations like the FDA and other certificates around the world. Our aim is to first satisfy the needs of Qatar and gradually to diversify and export to other countries”.
Almohanadi said a former consultant at The Research Triangle Park (RTP), which is the largest research park in the United States, has joined the QLife Pharma team recently to facilitate the US FDA approval process.
Dr Hashim Ahmed, former RTP consultant, WHO fellow and now acting as the managing general director for QLife Pharma, said, “Currently we’re focusing on producing generic medicines for the local market. But our target in the long run is to be a pharmaceutical hub. Already, there are some institutes who are interested in collaboration. We’ll also be going to RTP soon in North Carolina where I come from. They will give the support and know-how to speed up the process.
We’ll start small and then start to build up. By getting the FDA approval we can export even to the US. And US is the biggest market for pharma. And the good thing about the US is they don’t differentiate because they are global. You give them a good medicine with good price and they will buy it. But you have to be FDA approved”.
QLife Pharma currently has partnerships with leading FDA approved manufacturers from India, South Korea, Jordan, and Turkey.
Almohanadi also said, “This is a global industry. Also, we collaborate with laboratories who are in their last stages of research. We look forward to having their newly released molecules be manufactured in our facility”.
According to Almohanadi, part of the company’s long-term plans is to build a pharma village in one of Qatar’s Free Zones wherein international pharmaceutical companies and other investors could partner with QLife Pharma in manufacturing and exporting medicine products.
He said, “I have already reserved a 36,000sqm land in the Free Zone to be used for this planned project. All the utilities and quality assurance lab needed for pharmaceuticals will be available in the facility. Qatar is committed to serving countries with limited resources. Like for oncology for example, we can produce affordable medicines in oncology. And that will go to poor people who cannot afford to buy such medicines. So we look forward to participating with other manufacturers around the world to collaborate.
Either we would be manufacturing their medicines here, or they will manufacture our medicine. This will all go gradually. Pharmaceutical industry has a lot of complexities but we are moving in that direction,” Almohanadi added.
QLife Pharma currently produces generic drug products such as oral liquid, tablets, capsules, solutions, ointments, creams, and eye/ear drops among others. Recently, it also launched its antibiotic medicine which is its latest addition to its product range.
However, Almohanadi stressed the need for greater awareness among the residents towards locally-manufactured medicines. He also said, “About 80 percent of the medicine here is imported from other manufacturers around the world.
We need to see full support from the Qatari government for the local pharmaceutical industry. We need our products to be gradually taken in. Our facility has now been certified by the WHO’s cGMP three times. We need to generate awareness that local generic medicines are also high quality products if compared to the branded ones”.
