Predictive and precision medicine is the future of the healthcare industry, according to key players who spoke at a top forum in Bahrain.
M42 Bahrain chief executive officer Dr Mohamed Al Saati, Pharos Capital Group founding partner, chairman and CEO Kneeland Youngblood and CEC Capital Group founding partner Irene Hong discussed the future of the industry during a panel discussion, titled ‘Healthcare Capital: Strategies for Medical Innovation’, at Gateway Gulf yesterday.
“This is now the era of precision, predictive and preventive medicine,” Dr Al Saati noted.
“Today, it’s about bringing all data, including genomic data, together. In the UAE, we’re very close to completing the largest national genome sequencing programme on the planet.
“Medicine now is not just about the phenotypic (observable) data – the height, weight, body composition – but all of that is also supplemented with genomic data.
“You can tailor individual treatments to a patient based on their genetic composition, and also run population health programmes to identify those who are at risk of developing certain diseases in the future, and start to address it earlier in the life cycle, where they are treatable and curable, while also saving a lot of cost and effort.”
During his remarks, Dr Al Saati also revealed that Amana Healthcare, the first facility in the kingdom to provide specialised long-term care and post-acute rehabilitation in an almost residential setting, is set to receive its medical licences in the coming weeks, with plans to open in the works.
Amana Bahrain, part of the UAE-based M42 network and in partnership with the sovereign fund Mumtalakat, will be housed in a 15,652sqm facility in Jasra. It will have more than 100 beds, two state-of-the-art gyms, a world-class hydrotherapy pool and sensory garden, with a staff of more than 260 physicians, nurses and therapists.
It will provide physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, rehabilitation nursing and diagnostic services, tailored to each patient’s unique needs.
Building on the Abu Dhabi-based M42’s history since 2013 of becoming a tech-powered health firm, the facility will ‘provide personalised treatment plans, compassionate care, and a warm, home-like environment.”
&uuid=(email))