Over the last few years, the healthcare sector has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sectors in Malta. Malta's health care is a primary priority. In 2014, the government initiated public-private partnerships in the healthcare sector to create Malta as a Mediterranean center for medical tourism and to manage part of its public health care system. The Government allocates a large portion of its budget to health, including investment in health facilities. Over the years, Malta has become an important competence for the development and filing of patent applications of pharmaceutical companies. Several leading pharmaceutical companies have moved to Malta because a wide range of opportunities have been found. The pharmaceutical industry in Maltese has and still is a successful business.
The Maltese legal structure allows the production of generic medicines before patent expiry, and pharmaceutical companies founded in Malta benefit. Malta is one of the few Member States in the European Union which fully recognizes the Patent and ++memorialize, medicines before the expiry of the patent. Therefore, a generic Pharma company in Malta will develop a drug under the Maltese Patent and Design Act, complete all of the compulsory criteria for testing the required authorizations, and release their product on the market without unfair delay upon expiry of the competitor's patent.
Possibilities for Pharma companies
The government-supported Life Sciences Park is intended to allow an R&D and Innovation cluster to be established on the island. The government has invested approximately €47 million in launching this initiative, which is operated by Malta Enterprise in partnership with the University of Malta and Mater Dei. It continues to support the initiative by offering financial and budgetary incentives and support for training to attract businesses involved in the sector.
Feasibility studies and joint research initiatives under EU programs, including Eureka, Horizon 2020, and Euro stars, are also being promoted. There are also several big initiatives in the public health sector. There are opportunities for manufacturers of supplies, pharmaceutical firms, suppliers of medical services, and developers of health infrastructure. Malta is flourishing too. It continuously moves out its ambitions: it will become a generic platform, too. It would also fulfill those of the planet as it meets its own health needs.
