Abu Dhabi Biobank Launches in Masdar City to Advance Medical Research

Abu Dhabi has launched the regions, largest, hybrid, cord, blood, bank, Abu Dhabi Biobank, located in Masdar City's Omics Centre of Excellence. The state-of-the-art facility can safely preserve up to 100,000 cord blood samples and five million pan-human samples, making them viable for research and therapeutic use for 30 years.

Why this matters: The Abu Dhabi Biobank has the potential to revolutionize medical research and treatment in the Middle East and Asia, leading to breakthroughs in disease prevention and personalized healthcare. By establishing itself as a leading destination for medical research and innovation, Abu Dhabi can attract top talent and investment, driving economic growth and improving healthcare outcomes globally.

The biobank aims to shorten waiting times for treatment, improve survival rates, and create a diverse, foundational bio-asset that supports treatments of rare diseases, early detection, and disease prevention. It will also support life science research for medical innovation and novel drug discovery targets to deliver personalized, precise, high-quality, and preventative declaration, principles, enhance, healthcare, outc for all.

Dr. Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), stated, "The wealth of biological and medical data amassed by the biobank will serve as a catalyst for scientific breakthroughs, expediting drug discovery, thus contributing to the emirate's ability to find solutions for local and global health challenges."

Ashish Koshy, Group Chief Operating Officer of M42, added, "The Abu Dhabi Biobank will foster global innovation in therapy development, as it holds huge potential for regenerative medicine, aiding in rare disease treatment, genetic screening, early detection, and scientific research."

The biobank is part of Abu Dhabi's vision of building a unique global biobanking hub that delivers invaluable data assets with a maximal impact on people's health. The service will be introduced across four leading healthcare entities dedicated to maternal and child health in Abu Dhabi, including Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women and Children (part of the M42 group), Corniche Hospital, Kanad Hospital, and hospitals under NMC Healthcare. Prospective parents can avail themselves of this department, health, declaration, principles, enhan service at these facilities.

The launch of the Abu Dhabi Biobank follows the unveiling of the Declaration of Principles on Bioconvergence by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi during Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week. The declaration outlines global principles covering guidance on transparency, accountability, and bias mitigation, as well as research ethics and ethical decision-making in the field of Bioconvergence. Leading local and global entities, including Amazon, Microsoft, UAE University, Core 42, and Masdar City, will collaborate with DoH on this initiative.

The hybrid cord blood bank is part of the larger Abu Dhabi Biobank, which will include pan-human and tumor biobanks in its next expansion phase. With its automated technology and vast sample storage capacity, the Abu Dhabi Biobank positions the emirate as a leading destination for medical research and innovation, aiming to address urgent healthcare challenges and shape the future of healthcare for generations to come.

Key Takeaways

• Abu Dhabi launches largest hybrid cord blood bank in the region, storing up to 100,000 samples.
• The biobank aims to revolutionize medical research and treatment in the Middle East and Asia.
• It will support life science research, novel drug discovery, and personalized healthcare.
• The biobank will shorten waiting times, improve survival rates, and aid in rare disease treatment.
• It's part of Abu Dhabi's vision to build a global biobanking hub, delivering invaluable data assets for people's health.