Arabian Ethicals Highlights the Role of Distribution in Strengthening Healthcare Access at ICPM

Arabian Ethicals, a Ghobash Group enterprise, participated in the International Conference on Pharmacy and Medicine (ICPM), held from 20–22 January in Sharjah. Ebru Yavuz, General Manager of Arabian Ethicals, contributed to high-level discussions on healthcare access, pharmaceutical innovation, and regulation across the Middle East.

Recognized as a key regional platform for the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector, ICPM brought together regulators, manufacturers, healthcare providers, and industry stakeholders to address priorities shaping healthcare delivery. Within this setting, Yavuz shared insights on the role of pharmaceutical distribution in ensuring safe, compliant, and uninterrupted access to medicines across the region.

Her presentation, titled “Powering Healthcare Access: The Middle East Distribution Imperative,” focused on distribution as a central pillar of the healthcare ecosystem. Drawing on the UAE market context, Yavuz outlined how distributors act as the operational and regulatory bridge between global manufacturers, health authorities, and healthcare providers, supporting regulatory compliance, market authorization, and patient access.

“Distribution is foundational to healthcare access,” Ebru Yavuz said. “In the UAE, it is the mechanism that ensures medicines are properly authorized, managed in line with regulatory standards, and consistently available, while safeguarding quality and patient safety.”

Yavuz highlighted that without an authorized distributor, pharmaceutical products cannot be legally imported, stored, or sold. She emphasized the distributor’s responsibility in ensuring alignment with federal and local regulatory requirements, including product registration, dossier compliance, and ongoing pharmacovigilance to maintain public safety.

A significant part of the discussion centered on supply chain integrity and Good Distribution Practice (GDP) compliance. Yavuz addressed the importance of validated cold-chain infrastructure, temperature monitoring, serialization, and traceability in preserving product quality, particularly in extreme climate conditions and for temperature-sensitive therapies such as biologics, vaccines, and insulin.

She also discussed the distributor’s role in supporting market access and continuity of supply across the UAE, including tender participation, demand planning, forecasting, and inventory management. These functions, she noted, are critical to ensuring uninterrupted availability of essential and chronic medications across hospitals, pharmacies, and healthcare providers.

Yavuz’s contribution formed part of broader discussions at ICPM examining how healthcare systems can balance innovation with regulatory rigor and operational resilience, underscoring the role of distribution as a foundational enabler of patient access.

Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, Arabian Ethicals works closely with international pharmaceutical partners to connect global innovation with local healthcare providers, ensuring compliant and reliable access to medicines across all seven emirates.

About Arabian Ethicals

Established in 1977, Arabian Ethicals – a Ghobash Group Enterprise – is a leading UAE-based healthcare distributor with a strong focus on pharmaceuticals, consumer health, and animal care. The company enables global partners to navigate the UAE market through regulatory expertise, strong public-private relationships, and deep regional insight. With a portfolio spanning high-impact therapeutic areas such as oncology and diabetes, Arabian Ethicals is committed to improving patient access and advancing healthcare outcomes across the region.

For more information, visit arabianethicals.ae or write to info@arabianethicals.ae. You can also follow Arabian Ethicals on LinkedIn.