People & Lifestyle UAE decking out offices to promote worker wellbeing The UAE is increasingly adopting building standards that meet employee demand for office conditions that enhance wellbeing. The Middle East has witnessed a 24-fold increase in Well Building Standard adoption over the last 19 months, with a large majority coming from the UAE. The Well Building Standard is an international system that measures, monitors and […] August 17, 2023
Health PIF sets up company to help Saudi women get fitter Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has launched a company aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of women in the kingdom. The business, Kayanee, will focus on fitness, apparel, personal care and treatments, nutrition and diagnostics, healthy eating and learning. The Public Investment Fund-backed company will be chaired by Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, […] August 7, 2023
Health Omani firm begins work on $155m vaccine facility Muscat-based Opal Bio Pharma Company has started work on Oman’s first life-saving medicines and vaccine factory. The OMR60 million ($155.84 million) facility will cover 37,000 sq m at Khazaen Economic City and will be completed in two years. Details of the manufacturing capacity were not disclosed. Chairman Saad Moosa Al Junaibi said that the factory […] July 14, 2023
Health Mubadala-backed Recursion secures new $50m funding Chip designer Nvidia will invest $50 million to speed up training of biotech firm Recursion’s artificial intelligence models for drug discovery, the companies announced, sending Recursion’s shares surging about 83 percent. Recursion, whose advisers include AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, will use its biological and chemical datasets exceeding 23,000 terabytes to train AI models on Nvidia’s […] July 13, 2023
Health NMC Healthcare founder faces $4bn lawsuit Administrators have filed a $4 billion lawsuit against the founder of NMC Healthcare BR Shetty and its former chief executive, related to allegations of fraud which led to its demise in 2020. Legal claims have been made in the UK and Abu Dhabi centred around Shetty, Prasanth Manghat and the Bank of Baroda, as reported […] July 12, 2023
Health PIF’s Lifera and Sanofi join hands to produce vaccines A subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has signed an agreement to increase the local production of vaccines. Lifera, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), French pharma major Sanofi and Arabio, majority owned by Riyadh-based Tamer Group, will set up manufacturing facilities in the kingdom to produce vaccines for Saudi citizens. No details were […] July 7, 2023
Health Dubai firm in talks to buy stake in Aster’s Gulf business Private equity firm Fajr Capital is in exclusive talks to acquire a majority stake in Aster DM Healthcare’s Gulf business, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Aster, based in the UAE and listed in Mumbai, began a sales process at the end of last year to demerge the Gulf business, which […] July 5, 2023
Banking & Finance Abu Dhabi-backed Swiss skincare group raises $1bn A Swiss skincare group backed by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has raised $1 billion from newly issued shares. Galderma aims to use the funds to boost its balance sheet ahead of a planned stock market listing. The company, founded in 1981, was bought in 2019 by a consortium led by the Abu Dhabi sovereign […] June 27, 2023
Health PIF launches new pharma investment vehicle Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF, launched a new pharmaceutical investment company on Monday, as experts predict the country’s market will grow to $20 billion over the next decade. Lifera will make life-saving and essential products including insulins, vaccines and plasma therapeutics, PIF said in a statement. The company will create partnerships with leading local […] June 19, 2023
Health Saudi awards first PPP project in healthcare sector Saudi Arabia’s health ministry has awarded one of the kingdom’s first public-private partnerships (PPP) in the healthcare sector to Riyadh-based Altakassusi Alliance Medical. The project will deliver better radiology and imaging services to more than one million people across seven hospitals – King Fahad Medical City, Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Hospital, Al Dawadmi General Hospital, […] June 9, 2023
Health Saudi ‘needs to recruit 175,000 medics by 2030’ Saudi Arabia needs to recruit an additional 175,000 medical professionals to care for its growing population by 2030, research has found. The kingdom requires an extra 69,000 doctors, 64,000 nurses and 42,000 allied health professionals such as paramedics and osteopaths, according to a report published on May 30 by consultancy Colliers Middle East. Mansoor Ahmed, […] June 6, 2023
Economy Pharma IPO set to be Saudi’s largest listing this year Saudi’s Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals looks set to raise SAR1.26 billion ($336 million) when it lists later this year, putting it on course to become the kingdom’s biggest IPO in 2023. The manufacturer’s final offer price has been set at SAR60 per share. It was at the top of a range that started at SAR56, implying a […] May 26, 2023
Health PIF-owned company aims to stub out smoking in Saudi Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has launched a company that aims to cut smoking in the kingdom by a quarter by 2032. Badael will develop, manufacture and distribute tobacco-free alternatives which will help an estimated one million people make the switch from smoking, according to a statement. The initiative has the potential to save […] May 26, 2023
Health Gulf insurers paid out only $80m in Covid death claims Gulf insurance firms paid out only around $80 million in Covid-19 death-related claims over the last three years, according to AGBI calculations based on industry data. The low amount in the Gulf reflects the low uptake of life insurance policies in the region, where the average life insurance penetration is only 0.1 percent compared with […] May 19, 2023
Health Healthcare tourism gives Dubai a shot in the arm Medical tourism brought nearly AED1 billion ($272 million) to Dubai last year, up by more than a quarter, as the emirate aims to build its reputation as a destination for international patients. Dubai welcomed 674,000 medical tourists in 2022, up from 630,000 the previous year, with 39 percent arriving from Asian countries, 22 percent from […] May 17, 2023
Health Israeli firm makes ready-to-cook 3D printed fish fillets Forget your hook, line and sinker. An Israeli foodtech company says it has 3D printed the first ever ready-to-cook fish fillet using animal cells cultivated and grown in a laboratory. Lab-grown beef and chicken have drawn attention as a way to sidestep the environmental toll of farming and tackle concerns over animal welfare, but few […] May 4, 2023
Health Burjeel Holdings plans to triple its medical tourism Burjeel Holdings has revealed plans to triple its medical tourism business by the end of the decade. The UAE-based private healthcare services provider has a network of 61 assets, including 16 hospitals and 23 medical centres, as well as pharmacies and other services. CEO John Sunil, who has been with the company for 12 years, […] April 24, 2023
Health M42 buys European dialysis group Diaverum Abu Dhabi’s newest tech-enabled healthcare company, M42, has made its first investment with the acquisition of Diaverum, a global renal care service provider. The value of the deal for Bridgepoint Group’s European dialysis clinic chain was not disclosed, although previous reports by Bloomberg suggest it could be in the region of $2.5 billion. M42 launched […] April 19, 2023
UK pharma startup targets Gulf for future IPO UK pharmaceutical startup Ambrose Healthcare has revealed plans for a stock market listing in the Middle East. Ambrose Healthcare aims to provide treatments for rare diseases and address the unmet needs of patients in hospital or specialist care facilities. The Cambridge-based company is undertaking a six-month “small fundraising” of £1 million, and has so far […] April 10, 2023
Analysis Health More GCC healthcare mergers likely as competition hots up The GCC healthcare market is set to witness more mergers, acquisitions and consolidation as competition increases, say experts. As the sector continues to mature, public-private partnerships (PPPs) are bringing about a shift in care delivery that is likely to be transformative, according to Dubai-based investment banking advisory firm Alpen Capital. Its research predicts that healthcare […] April 4, 2023
Fitness chains get financially fit as more Americans hit the gym Tighter budgets may not be a constraint for Americans looking to get back into shape, keeping gym operators financially fit, even as inflation pinches other consumer-focused sectors. Some of the major players in the fitness sector have pushed the envelope on membership rates after the pandemic scare, helping them beef up earnings, when most other […] March 23, 2023
Analysis A new age as Abu Dhabi accelerates its longevity push Abu Dhabi has grand plans to dominate the multi-billion-dollar longevity sector in the Gulf with the opening of two new facilities. The longevity industry is focused on the science of ageing and its related illnesses. The market is predicted to grow to as much as $32 billion in the UAE by 2026. And the region’s […] March 22, 2023
