ABU DHABI, The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) has launched the first Personalised Precision Medicine Programme for oncology in the region, in collaboration with Mubadala Health and its flagship, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, NYU Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and G42 Healthcare.
The new programme will focus its first phase on breast cancer patients across the emirate. It will target oncology diseases, building on the latest research and model of care to detect, diagnose and treat breast cancer patients, or reduce the risk or recurrence of the disease.
Dr. Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi, Under-Secretary of the DoH, said, “Abu Dhabi continues to strengthen its position as a leading destination for advanced healthcare, as well as an incubator for innovation in life sciences. By integrating predictive, personalised and precision medicine using genomics we can take the entire process of diagnostics, drug therapy and prevention, and tailor it to the needs of the specific individual.”
The programme aims to develop the required research infrastructure to position the UAE as a leader in global genomics balancing discovery and clinical research, he added.
Dr. Al Kaabi noted that Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and NYU Abu Dhabi are leading the collaborative research efforts that support the application of genome science in oncology medicine in alignment with DoH’s innovation and research strategy. Through a well-designed computational architecture and dynamic health information governance model; a world leading research infrastructure will be developed.
Hasan Jasem Al Nowais, Chief Executive Officer, Mubadala Health, said, “As the leading healthcare network in Abu Dhabi, Mubadala Health is excited to be a key partner of the DoH’s Personalised Precision Medicine Programme for oncology, a regional first. Along with our partner, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, we look forward to playing a central role in the advancement of the breast cancer clinical testing and screening to enhance the quality of life of our patients by using science-based risk assessment and tailored prevention care plans.”
Dr. Stephen Grobmyer, Chair of the Oncology Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, a Mubadala Health partner, said that the first phase of the programme specifically targets the most common form of cancer in the UAE, breast cancer, enabling customised cancer prevention plans for high risk patients and treatment plans for select breast cancer patients.
As part of the agreement, G42 Healthcare will provide gene sequencing and a clinical genetic report within two weeks of receiving the patient data from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. It will also collaborate with Mubadala Health’s National Reference Laboratory to ensure that the final genetic report is in line with the required standards of care at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.
Dr. Fahed Al Marzooqi, Chief Operating Officer, G42 Healthcare, said, ” G42 Healthcare will support this initiative fronted by Biogenix Labs, region’s largest and most advanced Omics facility. By providing genetic testing and sequencing technologies for precision oncology therapies, we hope to make testing easily accessible and available for oncology patients. As the programme grows in scale, this will facilitate early detection and treatment, bring in cost efficiencies, ensure better prediction, prevention, and treatment of genetic and chronic illnesses for patients.”
Source: Emirates News Agency