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Health

Health news, healthcare news and pharmaceuticals news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

The NMC specialty hospital in Abu Dhabi is one of 85 the group owns and operates

NMC Healthcare weighs IPO among strategic options

The UAE hospital group NMC Healthcare has appointed Rothschild & Co as its first financial adviser, to review strategic options for its future, including a sale or initial public offering. The second financial adviser will be appointed in due course. The Abu Dhabi-headquartered healthcare provider completed its restructuring in March 2022, which included appointing a […]

Analysts say consumers believe that wearable technology can help improve their health and quality of life

Wearable tech shoppers track price as well as health

Gulf consumers who are interested in wearable tech – smart watches, rings, glasses and implants – are opting for mid-range gadgets rather than premium devices, industry experts have told AGBI. Dubai retailer Jumbo Electronics reported 50 percent year-on-year growth in the AED600-1,000 (about $163-$272) price segment in the first four months of 2024. The AED1,000-1,500 […]

Fundraising for TVM Healthcare Afiyah Fund has been led by PIF unit Jada Fund of Funds

PIF unit leads fundraising for Saudi healthcare fund

Jada Fund of Funds, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, has led the SAR920 million ($250 million) fundraising round in a fund which aims to invest in major healthcare companies in Saudi Arabia. Other investors in the TVM Healthcare Afiyah Fund were from Saudi Arabia, the GCC and Europe, according to TVM Capital Healthcare, […]

Mads Bo Larsen, vice-president of Novo Nordisk UAE, says a local plant 'will not solve anything' in the face of the country's Ozempic shortage Video length: 3:39

UAE diabetics face Ozempic shortage due to weight-loss users

The manufacturer of Ozempic is “troubled” by the fact the drug, which was designed to help people with diabetes, is in short supply in the UAE because of the high number of consumers using it for its weight loss side-effects. Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk introduced Wegovy, a drug meant to specifically tackle obesity, to […]

Cigarette sellers in Aswan, Egypt. US company Philip Morris says it wants to give smokers in Egypt 'better options than cigarettes'

US cigarette giant buys slice of Egyptian rival

The American tobacco giant Philip Morris International (PMI) has acquired a minority stake in Egypt’s largest cigarette manufacturer. PMI, which owns brands such as Marlboro, L&M, Merit and Parliament and is the world’s top tobacco company by market value, has bought 14.7 percent of Egypt’s Eastern Company, which also includes cigars and pipe tobacco in […]

Marina Storti, CEO of WTA Ventures, front right, and Kevin Foster, head of communications at PIF, front left, at the signing of the sponsorship agreement between the two

PIF to sponsor women’s world tennis rankings

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is giving its name to the women’s world tennis rankings, the latest sponsorship deal in the kingdom’s drive to dominate global sports.  “The PIF WTA Rankings will track players’ journeys, and PIF will work with the WTA to celebrate and support players’ progress,” PIF said, calling the deal “multi-year”.  […]

A hospital doctor examines a cancer patient. Fakeeh, which runs four Saudi hospitals, is selling a 21.47% stake through its IPO

Healthcare group Fakeeh attracts orders of $91bn for Saudi IPO

The listing of healthcare conglomerate Fakeeh Care Group was 119 times oversubscribed by institutional investors, the Saudi stock exchange said on Tuesday. The initial public offering was set to raise $763 million but attracted orders of $91 billion, reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s dominance of the region’s IPO market this year. Fakeeh, which was founded in Jeddah […]

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at a meeting last year to discuss the country's healthcare system. It is estimated that one fifth of Egypt's adult population has diabetes

Egypt misses healthcare targets as population ails

Egypt is failing to meet its healthcare spending targets, exacerbating deteriorating living standards that are leading to a rising number of illnesses and health problems. Egypt’s parliament approved legislation in 2018 to achieve universal health coverage by 2030, pledging to expand provision to include the 50 percent of Egyptians lacking insurance, according to a 2023 […]

Saudi Arabia’s Fakeeh Care to offload 21% stake in IPO

Fakeeh Care Group, one of the largest private healthcare groups in Saudi Arabia, plans to offload 21.47 percent of its stake through existing and new shares in an initial public offering (IPO). The group, which owns four hospitals in the kingdom, intends to offer 30 million new shares and 19.8 million existing shares to investors […]

In 2023 the Turkish government provided $22m in financial support to companies operating in the health services export sector

Turkey’s health tourism sector worth $2bn in 2023

Turkey’s health tourism sector generated revenue of $2.3 billion in 2023, data released by the Ministry of Trade reveals. Health service exports surged from $1.9 billion in 2022 to $2.3 billion in 2023, driven by an influx of 1.4 million health tourists, placing Turkey seventh in the global health tourism rankings. The country has 40 […]

Dr Azad Moopen, the founder chairman of Aster, retains 35 percent ownership alongside management and operational control

Aster DM completes GCC and India business split

Hospital chain Aster DM Healthcare has concluded the separation of its GCC and India businesses into two standalone entities.  As part of the separation plan, a consortium of investors led by Fajr Capital, a UAE sovereign-backed private equity firm, acquired a 65 percent stake in Aster GCC. Dr Azad Moopen, the founder chairman of Aster, […]

The UAE and Saudi Arabia in particular are investing heavily in life sciences and longevity

Abu Dhabi puts together global life sciences contender

A new company to help establish Abu Dhabi as a major global player in life sciences has been announced by the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ. The new concern, called Arcera, will act as an umbrella entity for ADQ’s shareholdings in the Swiss pharmaceutical company Acino, Birgi Mefar Group of Turkey and Egypt’s Amoun. Arcera […]

The acquisition of Kelix bio is set to boost the UAE’s global standing in life sciences, said Mubadala

Mubadala to buy pharma company Kelix Bio

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Kelix Bio, a specialty pharmaceutical business in the UAE that focuses on delivering complex generics across emerging markets. The Kelix Bio acquisition is set to boost the UAE’s global standing in life sciences, state-own Abu Dhabi Media Office reported, quoting a Mubadala statement. […]

Aster expects the sale of its GCC business to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024

Aster DM says India, GCC business split nears closure

Hospital chain Aster DM Healthcare has confirmed that the separation of its GCC and Indian businesses and the proposed investment in the former by a Dubai private equity firm are nearing completion.  The company agreed to sell a 65 percent stake in its Gulf business to a state-backed Fajr Capital-led consortium for $1 billion in November […]

An NMC hospital in Abu Dhabi. The business was founded in the 1970s and went into administration in 2020

NMC and Dubai Islamic Bank end legal dispute

NMC Healthcare has reached an out-of-court settlement with Dubai Islamic Bank, ending the long-running legal dispute between the two businesses. The healthcare operator had borrowed around $400 million from DIB, which is the largest Islamic bank in the UAE. The loan used collateral known as insurance receivables, which are payments by insurance companies for medical […]

metabolic disease oura smart ring

‘Smart ring’ project aims to help fight chronic health problems

A wearable “health ring” is being used by a Dubai-based healthcare technology startup to help combat the Middle East region’s metabolic diseases crisis. The company, Metabolic – which brands itself as meta[bolic] – has signed a partnership with the Finnish maker of the Oura Ring, and aims to stem the billions lost in healthcare systems […]

A spa room in Clinique La Prairie's latest Longevity Hub in Dubai, it's fifth in the emirate Video length: 03:32

The Dubai spa charging AED90,000 to increase ‘healthspan’

Clinique La Prairie opened its fifth Longevity Hub-branded spa in Dubai last month and is preparing to open a $300 million health resort in Saudi Arabia’s Amaala giga-project next year.  The “medical spa” receives 60,000 clients each year from the Middle East to its luxury facility in Montreux, Switzerland for longevity and preventative medicine treatments. […]

The 450 companies operating at Dubai Science Park include AstraZeneca, and the free zone plans to add 200,000 sq ft of lab and office space

Dubai Science Park reveals expansion plans

Dubai’s biotechnology free zone is adding 60 percent more offices, laboratories and warehouses over the next few years to cater for an influx of new companies, its senior vice-president told AGBI.  Dubai Science Park, part of Dubai-listed Tecom Group, is planning an expansion of 200,000 sq ft of additional storage and logistics facilities at the […]

Tourists at Giza, Egypt. The government is targeting annual revenue of $11.5bn in medical tourism revenues alone

Wellness resort leads Egypt’s medical tourism push

Plans for Egypt’s first wellness resort have been revealed as experts forecast an increase in the number of medical visitors to the country. Maxim Group has signed an agreement with the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones to establish Naya Wellness Resort in Al-Saf, Giza. About $48 million is being invested in the resort, part […]