Commerce leads state delegation to Arab Health 2017 this week
Five companies in Washington state-led delegation join 100,000 participants from 160 countries at one of the world’s largest medical and pharmaceutical products trade shows in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Department of Commerce today opened Washington State’s exhibit at Arab Health 2017, one of the world’s largest trade shows for the medical and pharmaceuticals industry.
Five companies are featured in the “Choose Washington” delegation, including Seattle-based Shift Labs, whose DripAssist infusion device recently was honored as one of the 12 most important health innovations of 2016 by Popular Science magazine. Others are Mobile Workforce, Inc., creators of workSmart!, a solution for tracking medical implants and managing surgical device inventory; The O.R. Company of Tacoma, developers of innovative surgical equipment; M3 Biotechnology, a Seattle firm developing therapeutics to combat Alzheimer’s Disease; and MYCO Analytical, specialists in laboratory equipment based in Lake Tapps.
The Arab Health Exhibition covers electromedicine, information and communications technology, physiotherapy, lab equipment and diagnostics, consumer goods and more. More than 100,000 attendees are expected from at least 160 countries. Washington exported over $3 billion in goods to the UAE in 2015, with aerospace leading the way. Computers and industrial machinery rank fourth, and medical and surgical devices rank sixth. The UAE is the state’s largest export market in the middle east and north Africa region, and some 1,000 U.S. firms have a presence there. With a relatively low 5 percent duty on most products, UAE’s $300-billion-a-year economy is a prime opportunity for Washington businesses. Additionally, inbound investment from UA to the U.S. is growing rapidly, topping $2.7 billion in 2014.
Commerce provides services to help small businesses expand through international trade and exports. Support includes help promoting their products and services to potential partners and buyers, and eligible companies can take advantage of reimbursement-style vouchers through the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Visit the Commerce website to learn more about how the state’s export assistance programs help create new market opportunities and financial partnerships.
More than 1,000 biopharma, medical technology and research organizations in Washington are focused on bringing new products, therapies and cures to the global marketplace. This ecosystem is fed by leading researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington School of Medicine and the Allen Institute for Brain Research. National Institutes of Health grants to Washington-based organizations approach $900 million. The life science and global health sector is a vibrant hive of companies across the state, employing more than 92,000. Additionally, the state’s powerful technology sector, with some 14,000 tech companies, offers a rich environment for collaboration.
See a directory of the Washington State Arab Health 2017 delegation, and follow highlights this week on twitter @WAStateCommerce. Upcoming events for companies in the life science and global health sector include Medical Fair India, April 6-8, 2017, and BIO International in San Diego, June 19-22.