Research efforts must be rapidly localised to improve patient outcomes, deliver precision medicine, and catalyse scientific excellence as the UAE’s healthcare expenditure is projected to reach AED112.7 billion ($30.68 billion) by 2027, a study has revealed.

Dubai Science Park’s ‘The UAE Healthcare Ecosystem’ white paper, developed in collaboration with EY and engagements with 18 health system leaders and policymakers, explores global megatrends in the healthcare sector and their impact towards reshaping the ecosystem to accelerate personalised and precision medicine in the UAE.  

The momentous shift towards digitally enabled healthcare is among the key findings of the paper, released on day one of the Arab Health exhibition (January 29 to February 1) in Dubai.

With about 30% of the world’s entire data volume now generated by the healthcare industry, the paper explores how public and private sector investments are leveraging this asset to pioneer the integration of emerging technologies and enable novel therapy and personalised patient frameworks.

“Investing in localised research and initiatives is not only a scientific imperative, but a commitment to revolutionising healthcare for the greater good in the Middle East and beyond,” said Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi, Senior Vice President of Dubai Science Park at TECOM Group PJSC.

“Precision medicine represents a paradigm shift in the life sciences, and its diversion from a one-size-fits-all approach promises effective and targeted interventions, helping to fulfil the healthcare sector’s mission of patient-centricity.

“We are committed to championing awareness of these disruptive possibilities through ventures such as Dubai Science Park’s new white paper.”

The paper, launched at a special session of Arab Health, by Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi and Ahmed El Banna, Senior Manager of Healthcare Consulting at EY for the Middle East and North Africa region, explores the structural forces that impact healthcare in the UAE, where the sector’s GDP contribution is expected to remain above 4.3% between 2023 and 2027.

Healthcare expenditure in the UAE grew by about 4% per year since 2016 to reach AED 79 billion in 2022, and is projected to further increase by 7% each year until 2027.

An important focus area for technologically powered future investments identified by the paper is genomic medicine and research, considered critical to improving drug design and delivering preventive and personalised medicine.

Dubai Science Park’s white paper sheds light on the UAE’s Emirati Genome Programme, which aims to use genetic data to prevent and treat chronic and rare diseases. Information generated through the programme’s advanced sequencing technology, and analyses powered by artificial intelligence (AI), can curate genetic references that support advanced diagnosis for Emiratis and enable personalised healthcare and treatment pathways. 

The white paper’s findings about the significance of localising healthcare R&D reiterate the overarching goals of the Dubai Research and Development Programme, according to Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi.

He said: “Strategic programmes like We the UAE 2031, Dubai Economic Agenda ‘D33’, and Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan further empower co-creation between the public sector and industry champions and enable a pool of industry knowledge and talent, such as Dubai Science Park’s community of 450 customers and more than 5,500 professionals.”

Early findings from the paper’s review of sustainability in the UAE’s healthcare system were released at the COP28 conference in Dubai.

Dubai Science Park is joined at the event by in5 Science, a dedicated vertical it launched in collaboration with Tecom Group’s start-up incubator in June 2023.

in5 Science start-ups in attendance at Arab Health include EMed Support Systems, which uses AI to process data for proactive cardiovascular management; KinesteX, an AI-powered provider of real-time form correction for remote workers; Neulink, which automates operations and workflows for staff efficiencies; and Diagnio, which provides home test systems to transform hormonal diagnostics for women.

The science district is set for further growth as Tecom Group is developing storage and logistics facilities with a gross leasable area of 200,000 sq.ft. at Dubai Science Park, home to industry leaders such as AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Pfizer, and Virax Biolabs.

Dubai Science Park is part of Tecom Group’s portfolio of business districts that include Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City, Dubai Production City, Dubai Knowledge Park, Dubai International Academic City, Dubai Design District (d3), and Dubai Industrial City. – TradeArabia News Service