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Healthcare at the frontiers of preventative medicine

Abu Dhabi’s M42 is at the forefront of the shift from reactive to proactive healthcare.

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Earlier this year, women in the UAE gained the ability to extend their fertility or delay menopause using an innovative technique known as ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC).

The procedure was made available thanks to a partnership between Abu Dhabi-based health provider M42 and the UK’s ProFaM, which developed OTC. The deal is the latest in a string of international partnerships forged by M42, emblematic of the strides it’s taking in the shift from traditional, reactive medicine, towards proactive, preventative healthcare. From innovative treatments like OTC to data-driven, personalized genomic medicine, these organizations offer a glimpse into the near-future of healthcare.

Putting women in control

ProFaM was founded in 2017 by Professor Simon Fishel, following a distinguished career in IVF that began in the laboratories of the technology’s originators: Professor Robert Edwards and Dr. Patrick Steptoe.

The company’s minimally invasive procedure involves cryogenically freezing a small piece of ovarian tissue and re-implanting it in the same individual during perimenopause.

OTC makes the body re-produce pre-menopausal hormones, delaying the onset of menopause and extending fertility. There are also applications in treating common conditions like endometriosis that can accelerate ovarian aging.

While Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) performs the same function, many women have trouble with the treatment, eventually giving up on it. OTC achieves the same goal, but “naturally, physiologically.” The impact could be enormous. “100% of women will go through menopause,” says Fishel, “and 100% could have problems.” And with people living longer, “the menopause is going to be a protracted period almost as long, if not longer, than the pre-menopausal period.”

The M42 partnership brings OTC to the Middle East for the first time, performed by a local consultant surgeon, Dr Zahid Khan, according to the strict protocols developed by ProFaM.

It reflects both Fishel’s ambition to establish the treatment as a routine option for women globally, and M42’s broader commitment to advancing preventative healthcare.

Reactive to proactive health

Abu Dhabi-headquartered M42 is the largest health provider in the Middle East, operating 480 facilities in more than 26 countries – and it is distinctly tech-focused.

“The shortest way to articulate what we do,” says Dimitris Moulavasilis, Group CEO, “is that we aim to transform care for all by advancing precision and preventative care, harnessing AI technology and genomics and disrupting traditional care ecosystems to positively impact lives.”

As part of the Emirati Genome Program, M42 has nearly completed sequencing the genomes of every Emirati – currently 800,000 of one million.

The data will be used for population-level public health interventions, but also personalized medicine. In one case, M42 prevented progressive blindness in an eight-year-old girl by uncovering a genetic mutation and offering gene therapy.

M42 prevented progressive blindness in an eight-year-old girl by uncovering a genetic mutation and offering gene therapy.

In another instance, genetic testing found a 100% chance of developing thyroid cancer in a 40-year-old woman. Given a thyroidectomy, she no longer needs to suffer the disease.

Cases like these could become commonplace with the roll-out of newborn and “pre-marital” screening – which scans a couple’s genome for potential genetic disorders in future children.

And Moulavasilis says, “we’re maybe 18 months away from everyone having a data-driven, AI health coach in their pocket, one that combines genetic data with biomarker readings from wearables, such as heart rate.” Advancements like these are a glimpse into healthcare’s future, but also the innovation-friendly environment of Abu Dhabi.

"We’re maybe 18 months away from everyone having a data-driven, AI health coach in their pocket, one that combines genetic data with biomarker readings from wearables, such as heart rate."
Dimitris Moulavasilis
Group CEO

Global laboratory

In the Abu Dhabi Department of Health, M42 is privileged to have a policymaker that “understands the power of innovative approaches in health economics, both in improving care and reducing the cost of care.”

M42 works closely with the DoH, sometimes delivering technology at its request, other times receiving support for the company’s own projects.

Moulavasilis gives partial credit to the regulator’s innovation-friendliness for attracting international partners like ProFaM, as well as leading institutions like Imperial College London, the Stanford Research Institute, and the Cleveland Clinic. The company is conducting brain-computer interfacing trials with the latter.

And the results are flowing outwards, too. The company is working with the Uzbek government to develop its genome program. And it is helping Jordan to digitize its health system.

"We are increasingly moving out of Abu Dhabi and helping other countries internationally to develop further,"

says Dimitris Moulavasilis, Group CEO of M42.

The Silicon Valley of health tech

M42 is not the only player driving innovation in preventative medicine. Along with the wider Abu Dhabi ecosystem and secured international partnerships, there is a shared mission to push the frontiers and accelerate the transition.

“The thing about the UAE and Abu Dhabi,” Fishel says, “is that they are go-getters. They want to develop.” It’s an observation that chimes with Moulavasilis’ ambitions: “I have this vision to become the Silicon Valley of health technologies.”

It’s a vision set to fundamentally transform healthcare forever.

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