The Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH), drugmaker MSD, logistics company DSV and RAFED will set up a regional logistics hub for medicines and vaccines in Abu Dhabi, due to start operating in January 2027.
The facility in Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (KEZAD) will handle re-export, storage and distribution of medicines and vaccines from MSD’s portfolio to the UAE and more than 10 export markets in the Middle East and Africa, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Wednesday.
MSD is known as Merck & Co. in the United States and Canada.
The parties signed a memorandum of understanding at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit. Signatories included Sergey Zverev, MSD’s Regional President for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, RAFED Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Mustafa Saeed and Houssam Mahmoud, Chief Executive Officer of DSV in Abu Dhabi.
DSV will run the hub under MSD’s logistics, safety and quality standards. RAFED, a group purchasing organization owned by PureHealth, will provide the warehousing facilities.
The hub will expand its capabilities through 2027, according to the announcement. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Ashraf Mallak, Managing Director of MSD for the Gulf countries, Libya and Egypt, said the hub would make the company’s distribution network more resilient and efficient.
