Fresh from Make it in the Emirates, the UAE’s flagship industrial showcase, Arcera Life Sciences arrived with a clear message: that pharmaceuticals are no longer peripheral to the country’s manufacturing drive, but a strategic pillar of it. The Abu Dhabi-anchored company used the event to spotlight local drug manufacturing, clinical development, genomics and a new partnership with the Emirates Drug Establishment.

In the days after, we spoke to CEO Isabel Afonso about what Arcera set out to demonstrate and where she sees the sector heading. Operating across more than 60 markets, the company is positioning itself at the intersection of the forces she believes will define life sciences’ next phase: healthcare resilience, the rise of data and genomics, and the challenge of getting innovative medicines to the patients who need them.

What did Arcera showcase at Make it in the Emirates?
Make it in the Emirates was a strong demonstration of how the UAE’s industrial ambitions are being translated into real, practical capabilities, and our participation reflected the strategic role life sciences plays in that national agenda. We illustrated how innovation, strategic partnerships and advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing strengthen healthcare resilience while contributing meaningfully to the country’s long-term industrial and economic priorities.

Arcera today operates as an integrated life sciences platform, spanning access and commercialisation of medicines, business development and scientific capability across more than 60 markets, including 13 in the Middle East. What we were advancing at the event addressed the fundamental building blocks of a strong, locally anchored sector — from ecosystem collaborations and clinical development infrastructure to the use of genomics data, Emirati talent development and scalable local manufacturing.

Taken together, these efforts reflect our ambition to help unlock the full potential of the UAE life sciences sector: strengthening resilience, enabling scale, and creating long-term value for patients and the economy.

What trends do you expect to shape your sector over the coming months?
The next phase of life sciences will be defined by the convergence of science, data, technology and systems thinking, and that shift is already accelerating.

The first major trend is healthcare resilience. Across the GCC, governments are reinforcing it with clear policy direction and tangible investment, and Arcera is actively contributing. Nearly half of our products available in the UAE are already manufactured locally, and our partnership with the Emirates Drug Establishment, announced at Make it in the Emirates, strengthens national talent development, manufacturing capacity and supply security — all of which directly benefit the healthcare system.

The second is the growing role of data and genomics in how medicines are developed and deployed. Precision medicine is moving rapidly from aspiration to practice. The availability of population-scale genomic data, combined with increasingly capable AI tools, is reshaping drug discovery and clinical development. We are exploring opportunities that position us within this intersection, and I expect it to be one of the most defining areas of advancement for the sector in the coming years.

The third is access. Chronic and complex conditions, from neurodegenerative diseases to cardiometabolic disorders and antimicrobial resistance, are growing faster than the global response. Innovation only creates value when it reaches patients, and translating scientific progress into real-world access at scale is central to our mission. It’s where our geographic reach and partnerships allow us to make a meaningful difference.

What is the anticipated growth of the sector?
The life sciences and pharmaceutical sector across the UAE and the wider GCC is expected to remain on a strong upward trajectory, underpinned by sustained government investment, industrial policy and rising healthcare demand.

According to IMARC Group, the GCC pharmaceuticals market was valued at $23.7bn in 2024 and is projected to reach $48.98bn by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 7.6 per cent. Saudi Arabia and the UAE continue to show particular momentum as both accelerate localisation, advanced manufacturing and healthcare innovation.

Importantly, growth is increasingly being measured not only in revenues but in outcomes: how many patients are reached, how many innovative medicines are approved, how resilient supply chains become, and how local talent and manufacturing capabilities are developed. That shift aligns directly with our strengths. With an integrated platform spanning access, commercialisation, business development and manufacturing, we are well-positioned to contribute as the sector evolves.

What are your plans for the next three to five years?
The coming years are about building on a strong foundation and scaling with purpose. Arcera was established with a clear mandate: to build a globally competitive life sciences company anchored in Abu Dhabi, contributing directly to the UAE’s healthcare ambitions while creating global impact. Over the past few years, we have integrated five businesses, built our core platform and established the partnerships that position us for the next phase. Now we are accelerating, around three priorities.

The first is innovation. Our collaboration with Fosun Pharma creates a long-term pipeline, technology development and a deeper focus in neuroscience, positioning Abu Dhabi as a bridge between Asian pharma innovation and global markets. We are also exploring opportunities at the intersection of genomics, clinical development and manufacturing, which will help shape new models of drug development for the region. These are structural partnerships designed to compound value over time.

The second is access. With more than 2,200 products and operations across four continents, scale is one of our strongest strategic elements. Over the next five years, we will keep expanding our pipeline and in-market portfolio, deepening regulatory capabilities and extending our geographic footprint to ensure therapies reach patients where they are needed most.

The third is strengthening local manufacturing and supply capability. More than 40 per cent of our UAE portfolio is already manufactured locally, and we intend to grow that. Our partnership with the Emirates Drug Establishment is central to building manufacturing capacity, developing strategic portfolios and advancing Emiratisation across our workforce.

What measures have you taken to stay resilient in the current environment?
Many of the measures that safeguard Arcera today were put in place well before current pressures emerged. The establishment of Arcera itself — bringing five businesses together under a single platform — was a deliberate resilience decision. From day one, the platform combined complementary capabilities, diverse therapeutic exposure and a geographically distributed operational base, which allows us to respond effectively when individual markets or supply routes face disruption.

We have also been disciplined in managing our portfolio, which spans multiple therapeutic areas, and so reduces dependency on any single category or supply source. Financially, the backing of one of Abu Dhabi’s leading sovereign investment institutions gives us the room to scale. And the partnerships we are building today are designed to extend that resilience over the long term.

Cybercriminals, the thinking goes, save their effort for the big players: the banks, the multinationals, the household names. Uzair Gadit, CEO of Secure.com, argues that this assumption is precisely what leaves smaller retailers exposed. Attackers don’t hunt by size; they hunt by weakness, and for criminals running automated, increasingly AI-powered campaigns, dozens of under-protected SMEs make an easier prize than one well-defended enterprise.

The danger sharpens during peak periods like Ramadan, Eid and the holidays, when transaction volumes spike and digital storefronts expand, and a breach at that moment can mean lost revenue, locked systems and lasting reputational damage.

We spoke to Gadit about why SMEs have become prime targets and what a peak-season attack really costs.

We often hear about major enterprises being targeted, but you’ve said retail SMEs are increasingly vulnerable, especially during peak seasons like Eid and the holidays. Why are smaller retailers becoming prime targets?

Conventional thinking assumes cybercriminals primarily target large enterprises. In reality, attackers go after the easiest opportunities, and increasingly, that means SMEs. Many smaller retailers still believe they are “too small to be noticed,” which often leads to minimal security preparation, even at a basic level. That perception makes them low-hanging targets.

For attackers, it’s a game of volume. Instead of trying to breach a single well-defended enterprise, they can target dozens of SMEs, exploiting weak systems for ransomware, payment fraud or data theft.

The risk becomes even greater during peak seasons like Ramadan and Eid. Transaction volumes surge, online purchases can jump by 46 per cent in fashion and 64 per cent in cosmetics, temporary staff are hired, and digital storefronts expand. SMEs today face the same digital attack surface as large enterprises but lack comparable resources to defend it.

With attackers now using AI to scale their exploits, smaller retailers have never been more exposed.

You’ve mentioned cases where cyberattacks during high-traffic sales periods have pushed some SMEs toward bankruptcy. What does that typically look like in practice: revenue loss, reputational damage, operational shutdown?

According to Mastercard research, 77 per cent of UAE SMEs that experienced a cyberattack had to spend time rebuilding trust with customers and partners, while a quarter ultimately filed for bankruptcy, and 19 per cent were forced to close their businesses. For an SME, a cyberattack during a peak sales period is particularly devastating because these moments often generate a significant share of annual revenue.

The first impact is immediate revenue loss. If an e-commerce platform, payment gateway or inventory system goes offline during a high-traffic period like Eid promotions, even a few hours of downtime can translate into thousands of lost transactions — losses that smaller retailers operating on tight margins may struggle to recover.

Next comes operational disruption. Ransomware can lock retailers out of point-of-sale systems, order management tools or customer databases, effectively halting operations during their busiest days.

Finally, reputational damage compounds the crisis. When customer or payment data is compromised, trust erodes quickly. Customers hesitate to return, partners question reliability, and regulators may require disclosure — turning a short-term incident into a long-term business threat.

Many small retailers simply can’t afford a full-time cybersecurity team. How does your model bridge that gap without pricing them out?

What many SMEs need is operational capacity without the cost of actually building it. That’s the core premise behind our Digital Security Teammates (DST) model.

DST works within a small retailer’s existing infrastructure, with no additional investment required to replace tools already in place. It eliminates the manual triage and alert noise that overwhelms lean IT teams, correlating alerts, enriching context and surfacing what genuinely requires attention.

With DST, a retailer gets a continuously operating digital teammate that amplifies whoever they already have, even if that’s one person covering five roles. By reducing noise and cutting response time, it lowers breach risk without enterprise-level cost.

From your experience, what are the most common misconceptions retail SMEs have about cybersecurity, particularly in fast-growth or seasonal sales periods?

One of the most common is the belief many micro-entrepreneurs hold that their business is too small to be noticed. As I said, attackers don’t look at size, only at weak points, and with automation tools now prevalent, they run their scripts at scale. Small business owners should re-evaluate that position; their size doesn’t make them invisible; it can actually make them easier to exploit.

The second is treating cybersecurity as an IT problem rather than a business-continuity issue. If an attack takes your website or checkout systems offline during an Eid weekend, that’s no longer just technical downtime; it’s lost sales during the most important trading days of the year.

Then there’s the timing trap: “We’ll deal with it after peak season.” But peak season is precisely when exposure is highest. Rapid growth periods, new payment integrations, pop-up storefronts and seasonal staff quietly widen security gaps. It’s always better to prepare before you’re most vulnerable. The UAE Cybersecurity Council has already flagged 128 confirmed incidents in 2026 alone, most linked to financially motivated groups. This is not a future risk; it’s a clear and present danger.

Do you expect cyber threats against retail SMEs to intensify as AI-driven attacks rise, and how should smaller businesses realistically prepare without overextending financially?

Without a doubt. AI is making it easier for attackers to automate phishing, credential stuffing and exploit discovery at a scale and speed that manual defences simply can’t match. The UAE has already recorded AI-powered cyberattacks targeting vital sectors, and the volume of attacks on high-transaction businesses like retail will only increase.

For some, the answer is hiring more experts. The problem is that there aren’t enough people to hire anywhere on the planet, and the cost is counterproductive. The more strategic response is to use AI defensively — for continuous monitoring, context-aware alert prioritisation, clear incident-response plans, and reducing the noise so real threats aren’t missed.

Practical preparation doesn’t require an unlimited budget. It requires the right tools, applied intelligently and matched to the scale and risk profile of the business. SMEs that act now, before the next peak season, will be in a fundamentally stronger position than those who treat this as someone else’s problem.

Read: The end of the password? GCC cybersecurity leaders sound the alarm on identity’s new frontline

US President Donald Trump said a peace agreement with Iran has been “largly negotiated”, with final details still being worked out, raising hopes of a breakthrough that could help stabilise global energy markets and reopen the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz.

In a post published on Truth Social early Sunday, Trump said a memorandum of understanding relating to peace had been discussed during calls with several regional leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

“An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalisation between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other countries, as listed,” Trump wrote.

He added that the Strait of Hormuz “will be opened”, while noting that “final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly”.

Trump said he also held a separate call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which he described as having gone “very well”.

The announcement follows reports that Washington and Tehran are close to agreeing an interim framework to halt hostilities.

According to Axios, citing a US official, the proposed deal would involve a 60-day extension of the current ceasefire, during which the Strait of Hormuz would reopen, Iran would be permitted to resume unrestricted oil exports, and negotiations would continue around limits to Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Reuters separately reported that Iran and Pakistan submitted a revised war-ending proposal to the US on Saturday, with sources saying a response from Washington is expected by Sunday.

A Pakistani official involved in the negotiations told Reuters that the interim agreement is in its “final phase” and is “fairly comprehensive”, while cautioning that the process is not yet complete.

“It is never over till it is done,” the official said.

The prospect of reopening the Strait of Hormuz is being closely watched by global markets.

The narrow waterway, through which roughly a fifth of global oil shipments typically pass, has been a focal point of geopolitical tension in recent months. Any sustained reopening would likely ease concerns over supply disruptions and could help calm volatility in oil prices, which have fluctuated sharply amid shifting expectations around a diplomatic resolution.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), in collaboration with the Dubai Road Naming Committee, has announced the renaming of Al Faghi Street in Al Khawaneej to Sheikh Zayed Farm Street, recognising the site’s historic role in the formation of the UAE.

The decision highlights the national importance of Sheikh Zayed Farm, a landmark closely linked to the country’s founding journey. According to a WAM report, the site was declared the UAE’s third union site by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, alongside Union House and Arqoob Al Sedira.

Officials said the designation reflects the location’s national symbolism and honours the historic meetings held there during the crucial stages leading to the establishment of the Union.

Site played major role in UAE’s founding journey

Sheikh Zayed Farm holds deep historical significance in the UAE’s modern history. In March 1971, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan stayed at the farm for nearly two weeks, where he held a series of meetings and discussions with the Rulers of the emirates.

Those meetings marked a major step toward the formation of the Union and helped pave the way for the signing of the Union Agreement and Constitution in July 1971.

The renaming initiative aligns with Dubai’s wider efforts to preserve and commemorate locations of national and cultural importance. Authorities said linking roads and urban landmarks to sites tied to the nation’s heritage helps strengthen national identity and keeps the UAE’s history alive for future generations.

Today, Sheikh Zayed Farm remains one of the UAE’s most prominent national landmarks, symbolising unity, authenticity and the vision of the Founding Fathers. The site continues to reflect the values that helped shape the UAE into a global model for development, stability and quality of life.

In a major move aimed at enhancing regional trade and streamlining cargo movement, the Sharjah Ports, Customs and Free Zones Authority, in cooperation with the Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority, has announced a new exemption from truck toll gate fees for cargo vehicles arriving from the Sultanate of Oman and operating within approved logistics corridor routes across the Emirate of Sharjah.

The initiative forms part of broader efforts to strengthen the logistics corridor linking Sharjah’s ports and border crossings with Oman while reinforcing supply chain resilience and operational efficiency across the UAE, a WAM report said.

Under the new measure, cargo trucks entering through the Khatmat Malaha and Al Madam border crossings will be exempt from truck toll gate fees, provided the shipments comply with the initiative’s approved conditions and routes.

Officials said the move is designed to facilitate the smooth movement of goods, reduce operational costs for transport companies and clients, and improve the overall efficiency of logistics services operating across the country.

Strategic crossings to drive faster cargo movement

Authorities highlighted the strategic advantages offered by both border crossings, noting that their locations play a key role in accelerating trade and cargo operations between the UAE and Oman.

Khatmat Malaha border crossing, in particular, benefits from its close proximity to the Port of Sohar in Oman, located roughly 70 kilometres away. Officials said this significantly shortens cargo transit times and supports faster movement of goods between the two countries.

The crossing is also connected to a comprehensive network of highways linking ports, free zones, industrial areas and commercial hubs throughout the UAE. This connectivity is expected to further improve nationwide supply chain efficiency and support seamless freight movement across the Emirates.

Meanwhile, the Al Madam border crossing continues to gain importance due to its strategic position at the intersection of major transport corridors. The location enables efficient access to both land and maritime transport networks, helping facilitate imports, exports and re-exports throughout the wider region.

Its direct connection to the Wilayat of Mahdha in Oman’s Al Buraimi Governorate further strengthens its role as a key logistics gateway between the two countries.

Officials also noted that the importance of the crossing is likely to grow alongside the continued expansion of the Al Rawdah Economic Zone, which is expected to enhance integration between industrial and commercial sectors while boosting connectivity between regional markets.

UAE customs authorities stress supply chain resilience

The General Administration of Customs and Ports Security at the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) said the latest facilitation measure reflects the UAE’s wider strategy of strengthening operational readiness and building resilient supply chains capable of adapting to changing market conditions.

In a statement, the Administration said the initiative forms part of ongoing efforts to introduce practical and proactive solutions that ensure the uninterrupted flow of trade and cargo movement between the UAE and Oman.

“The initiative forms part of ongoing efforts to introduce practical solutions designed to maintain the smooth flow of trade and goods movement between the two brotherly nations under various circumstances and market conditions,” the Administration said.

Officials added that the UAE Customs sector remains committed to working closely with strategic partners and regional and international entities to develop integrated facilitation systems that support global trade flows and reinforce supply chain resilience.

The Administration also emphasised that such measures align with the UAE’s broader vision of transforming challenges into opportunities through smart and innovative trade solutions.

“These efforts contribute to consolidating the UAE’s position as a regional and global trade hub while enhancing its economic competitiveness at both the regional and international levels,” the statement added.

Cost savings and operational gains expected

Industry stakeholders are expected to benefit significantly from the exemption, particularly companies operating across the transport, logistics and freight sectors.

Officials said the removal of toll gate fees will help reduce transportation costs, shorten delivery times and improve operational performance for cargo operators moving goods through the designated logistics corridors.

The facilitation measure also builds on a broader package of incentives and logistics services already introduced under Sharjah’s logistics corridor framework.

These measures include accelerating customs procedures and enabling cargo clearance processes to be completed directly at border crossings, helping companies reduce waiting times and improve overall operational efficiency.

Authorities said the combined initiatives are intended to create a more responsive and competitive logistics ecosystem capable of supporting increasing regional and international trade demand.

Sharjah strengthens position as regional logistics hub

The latest initiative further underscores Sharjah’s growing role as a strategic logistics and trade centre within the UAE and the wider Gulf region.

Officials said the measure reflects strong coordination between infrastructure authorities, customs bodies and transport entities across the emirate, supporting efforts to build an integrated transport and logistics environment that can respond effectively to evolving trade requirements.

The Administration also praised the level of customs and trade cooperation between the UAE and the Sultanate of Oman, highlighting its role in supporting bilateral trade growth and advancing the GCC Customs Union framework.

Analysts say the move is expected to strengthen trade connectivity between the two countries while supporting broader regional efforts to enhance supply chain integration and logistics competitiveness.

As regional trade volumes continue to rise and demand for faster cargo movement grows, the latest toll exemption initiative positions Sharjah as an increasingly important gateway for freight and logistics operations linking the UAE with Oman and beyond.