Burjeel Holdings, one of the largest healthcare providers in the MENA region, and BridgeBio Pharma, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on genetic diseases and cancers, have announced a new project to revolutionise the field of early diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases or disorders in the UAE and the region.

The two entities signed a preliminary, non-binding Collaboration Agreement establishing a mutual intention to work together on project ‘Nader’ (Needs Assessment and Therapeutics Development for Rare Diseases – ‘nader’ meaning ‘rare’ in Arabic).

Genetic in origin, these often life-threatening or chronically debilitating diseases affect a small percentage of the population and are present throughout a person’s entire life, even if symptoms do not immediately appear. The partnership will launch operations in Abu Dhabi to conduct clinical trials and research, leveraging the Emirate’s advanced infrastructure for innovation and life science.

Project 'Nader’ aims to revolutionise the field of early diagnosis and treatment in order to improve patient outcomes. Both entities intend to collaborate on identifying patients with several rare diseases, including achondroplasia, hypochondroplasia, FGFR-driven craniosynostoses, autosomal dominant hypocalcaemia type 1, limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2i, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, Canavan disease, propionic acidemia, methylmalonic acidemia, pantothenate kinase associated neurodegeneration, and others as mutually agreed.

In the first phase of the project, the two entities intend to utilise innovative risk assessment algorithms that will be deployed through the healthcare provider’s secure internal data to identify patients at risk for specific rare diseases.  Expectations for future phases of the project include analyses of vast amounts of data to identify patterns and markers associated with the diseases and generate personalised risk scores for patients, followed by genetic testing to confirm the diagnosis of identified potential patients.

The project also aims to run awareness campaigns and education activities about such rare diseases, to further support the mapping activity and encourage local collaborations from other healthcare providers.

Burjeel Holdings will deploy the project across its widespread hospitals and medical centres across the UAE as part of routine diagnostic care, with plans to expand the project through its growing healthcare infrastructure in the region. Local partnerships will also be sought to facilitate wider implementation.

Commenting on the project launch, Dr Asma Ibrahim Al Mannaei, Executive Director of the Research and Innovation Center at the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), said: “As part of our ongoing efforts to advance early diagnosis and treatment, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi is proud to witness yet another leading partnership aimed at propelling transformative medicine to safeguard the health and well-being of community members.”

John Sunil, CEO of Burjeel Holdings, said: “Project ‘Nader’ marks a significant milestone in our commitment to delivering the best possible care to our patients. It brings together Burjeel’s expertise in healthcare delivery and outreach and BridgeBio’s vast expertise in delivering breakthrough therapies for rare diseases. By combining our strengths, we seek to address the challenges faced in identification of rare diseases, which often go undiagnosed until symptoms become severe. The project will enable early interventions whether in the form of established treatments or novel therapies.”

 “Building on our already established foundation of genetic disease patient care, we hope that BridgeBio can help bring more patients access to novel treatments, clinical trials, and capabilities alongside a strong partner like Burjeel, and so we are grateful to be working with them to expand our efforts in the MENA region. Our vision is to serve patients around the world, and this is an important step in that direction,” said Neil Kumar, BridgeBio founder and CEO. – TradeArabia News Service