The Air Expo Abu Dhabi 2024 opened on Tuesday in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), bringing together around 500 exhibitors from across the world to showcase cutting-edge technology and highlight emerging trends in the aviation industry.
With a special focus on sustainable aviation development and urban air mobility planning, the three-day event is expected to attract over 20,000 visitors.
From autonomous flying vehicles to sustainable aviation solutions, the expo underscores the growing importance of air travel as a viable alternative to ground transport in congested urban areas while also significantly reducing delivery times.
"This is the future. As the urban cities are getting more and more crowded and traffic is getting more and more congested, I think this (eVTOL aircraft) is something that would help us save time to travel and spend more time with your loved ones," said David Liu from a local eVTOL aircraft manufacturer.
For the first time, the expo has introduced a dedicated Middle East Aviation Career Zone to address the growing demand for skilled professionals in the rapidly expanding Middle East aviation market.
According to the Global Services Forecast by leading European aerospace corporation Airbus, the Middle East commercial aircraft service market is projected to more than double in value by 2042, rising from 12 billion U.S. dollars now to 28 billion dollars. The region will also need some 208,000 skilled aviation professionals over the next 20 years.
This year's air show offers a platform to those looking for career opportunities within the aviation sector, with over 40 flight training schools in attendance to nurture the next generation of aviation talents.
"As you see here, many aviation schools and aviation companies are in this exhibition. Every airline is going to have expanded fleets and this expanded fleet needs more employees, more students, more graduates," said Abdallah Abadleh, director of Mid-East Aviation Academy.
The expo is also showcasing aircraft for medical transport, logistics delivery, tourism, and more. Throughout the event, industry experts will explore the latest advancements in aerospace technology, with discussions covering electric aircraft, urban air mobility, and fully autonomous flight systems.
Founded in 2012, the Air Expo Abu Dhabi has played a vital role in building the city into a global aviation hub.
Air Expo Abu Dhabi opens to explore future of aviation industry
An executive from the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas has lauded China's efforts to streamline drug approval, intellectual property (IP) protection and patient access through varied reimbursement avenues within its evolving pharmaceutical landscape.
Astellas has been in the Chinese market for 30 years. The company has focused on expanding Chinese patients' access to its innovative pharmaceutical products and has strengthened partnerships with local companies.
During an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Claus Zieler, Chief Commercial Officer for Astellas, emphasized that China has notably shortened the approval time for medicines and strengthened IP protections.
"There have been many changes in 30 years. Notably, I would say the time it takes to get the approval for medicine in China has shortened. It used to be that clinical trials for China had to be done after approval in other parts of the world. And then you would have essentially a double way of doing clinical trials. It takes a lot of time that has now been shortened considerably. The other notable difference, I would say, is that protection of patents in China has improved. It used to be that foreign companies were sometimes afraid [that] would China have a protection of their intellectual property? That's been a very good trajectory where China has developed significantly in a very positive way," Zieler said.
Zieler noted that China's multifaceted healthcare insurance system, including national, city, and commercial insurance, ensures that a significant portion of the population has access to affordable medications.
"As you may know that the major way of bringing access in China is through the so-called national drug reimbursement list, NRDL, but that's not the only way. Sometimes we have good negotiations with the government on NRDL, sometimes we also have other options in China, such as city insurance or commercial insurance. For instance, in one of our medicines, we have 67 city insurance payers who signed up to reimburse this medicine. So, 80 million people can profit off the benefits of this drug just through this particular insurance scheme," he said.
He reiterated that the pharmaceutical giant is dedicated to establishing significant partnerships throughout the value chain in China.
"The way we do that is by looking for partnerships across the value chain. For instance, we just signed an agreement with Elpiscience recently. That's a more research collaboration, we're also looking for manufacturing collaborations. Sometimes in one case, we have a commercial collaboration. So, it's really when our interests and the partners' interests meet and we have a win-win situation, that's when we partner. And it can be in any of these parts across the value chain," Zieler added.
Japanese pharma executive praises advancement, affordability in China's pharmaceutical evolution
