SECTOR UPDATES

U.A.E.
MEDTECH
SECTOR

BUSINESS COUNCIL REPORT

Authors
U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council
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The U.A.E.’s MedTech Sector NATIONAL PRIORITIES
The U.A.E.’s healthcare sector is being transformed by new medical
technologies that have taken on increased importance as a result of the
Covid-19 pandemic. This study, which is part of a larger series of reports
about the impact of technology on the U.A.E.’s economy, outlines how the
U.A.E.’s focus on expanding its healthcare system, adopting innovative new
technologies, and forging partnerships with leading U.S. hospitals and medical
technology companies has led to a flourishing of the U.A.E.’s medtech sector. World-Class
It also demonstrates how the U.A.E. has accelerated the pace at which it is Healthcare
adopting new medical technologies as a result of the pandemic.

Drivers of Change
The development of a world-class healthcare system is of critical importance
to the U.A.E. and is one of the six pillars of its national agenda, or Vision
2021. Moreover, the sector has rapidly expanded to meet the evolving needs
of a growing population, the high prevalence of chronic diseases, and the
country’s ambition to become a regional medical tourism hub. At the same Competitive
time, the U.A.E. has developed more specialized healthcare capabilities so Knowledge Economy
that it can reduce the number of patients it sends abroad for complex and
costly treatment.

As part of the growth and increased sophistication of the U.A.E.’s healthcare

sector, the U.A.E. has implemented new, best-in-class medtech solutions
revolving, for instance, around telemedicine, digitization of health records,
connected medical devices, and 3D printing. In many cases, this was done in
partnership with leading U.S. companies. The pandemic has only sharpened
the U.A.E.’s focus on these areas, creating new opportunities for partnerships
between the U.S. and U.A.E.
Safe Public & Fair
Judiciary

Best-in-Class MedTech Solutions

Cohesive Society &

Preserved Identity

Telemedicine Electronic Medical Laboratory

Records Technologies

First-Rate Education
System

Medical Devices & 3D Printing

Equipment

Sustainable Environment
& Infrastructure
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Telemedicine
The U.A.E. has long recognized the
power of telehealth to facilitate patient
care in the country. Notably, the Abu
Dhabi Telemedicine Centre, which is a
joint venture between Mubadala and
Medgate, offers convenient and high-
Abu Dhabi
quality medical consultations over the Telemedicine Center
phone, in both Arabic and English, 24 offers 24/7 medical
hours a day and 7 days per week.
consultations over
Telehealth was also seen as a way for patients to connect with providers the phone, in both
abroad, thus reducing the need for patients to travel to the United States or
other countries for complex care or enabling patients to easily follow up on care Arabic & English
received abroad. For example, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, part of Mubadala’s
network, uses telehealth to care for patients in the U.A.E., including by involving
their doctors and experts at their flagship hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telehealth as
healthcare providers have increasingly offered virtual visits to minimize
exposure and risk to patients. At one point, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
reported using telehealth for 50% of consultations through its ‘Virtual Visits’
service. More broadly, Mubadala Healthcare Network assets Abu Dhabi
Cleveland Clinic Abu
50%
Telemedicine Centre, Healthpoint, Imperial College London Diabetes Centre,
and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi have deployed teleconsultations to curb Dhabi uses telehealth
infection rates and protect at-risk populations. Healthpoint physiotherapists
by involving their
as well have been using video calls for therapy sessions.
doctors and experts at
As part of this integrated approach, Mubadala has partnered with Aramex to
provide door-to-door delivery of critical medical supplies to patients across their flagship hospital
the U.A.E. In line with the Healthcare Programme for Senior Citizens and in Cleveland, Ohio
Individuals with Chronic Illnesses run by the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi
and Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, Mubadala’s Imperial College London
Diabetes Centre and Amana Heathcare have collaborated to provide homecare
phlebotomy to further safeguard vulnerable patients. Mubadala Healthcare
is also working in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Center for Public Health
to allow non-critical Covid-19 patients to be monitored at home through the
Department of Health - Abu Dhabi’s “Remote Healthcare” digital platform. 50%
The initiative uses the Department of Health’s Remote Care app, supported by
Mubadala’s Injazat Data Systems, to facilitate remote care for these patients.
Notably, in an April 2020 webinar organized by the Business Council, the At the height of the
Deputy Group CEO and Chief Executive Officer for Alternative Investments pandemic, 50% of
& Infrastructure at Mubadala, H.E. Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, said that
CCAD consultations
the number of telemedicine appointments by Mubadala entities increased by
2,000% in just the initial stage of the pandemic. were using telehealth
The U.A.E. is keen to ensure the requisite regulatory infrastructure for
the further adoption of telemedicine. American law firm Morgan Lewis
points out that as a regional leader in innovation, the U.A.E. has focused its
regulation around six key areas in telehealth: teleconsultation, telediagnosis,
telemonitoring (remote patient monitoring), Mhealth (mobile health),
telerobotics and robot-assisted services, and telepharmacy.

2,000%
increase in
telemedicine
appointments by
At the same time, leading international health insurance providers, such as
Cigna and MetLife, are working on facilitating the coverage of such services, Mubadala entities
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now and in future. Additionally, the Cigna Wellbeing App provides access to
specialist doctors who are trained to triage, identify and manage suspected
COVID-19 symptoms. This application also offers 24/7/365 access from the
customer’s mobile device to clinical and well-being services and tools to
access care (global network of providers), understand more about one’s own
health, and change lifestyle behaviors when needed.

Health Data and Electronic Medical Records

For the past decade, the U.A.E. has been gradually implementing electronic
health record (EHR) and health information exchange (HIE) systems Malaffi (Arabic for “my file”) is the
throughout the country that promise to help the country reduce duplication, region’s first Health Information
medication errors, and the length of hospital stays; improve patient safety Exchange (HIE) platform that
and outcomes; and inform more effective public health policies. will safely and securely connect
Over a decade ago, in 2008, the U.A.E. all public and private healthcare
Ministry of Health & Prevention providers in the Emirate of Abu
launched the “Wareed” project to Dhabi. The platform enables the
establish a ‘one patient, one record’ real-time exchange of important
electronic health record system by patient health information between
linking all of its facilities in Dubai healthcare providers, creating a
and the Northern Emirates. This centralized database of unified
project, which involved deploying Cerner Millennium® systems in all Ministry patient records that will improve
hospitals and clinics, was managed by Dubai-based Hybrid Health Solutions healthcare quality and patient
and implemented by a consortium including iCapital, Cerner Corporation, Gulf outcomes. Malaffi is operated by Abu
Business Machines (the sole distributor of most IBM products and services), Dhabi Health Data Services, a special
and Injazat Data Systems. In 2014, the U.A.E. Ministry of Health & Prevention project company established as a
decided to drive the maturity of the Wareed project by collaborating with Public Private Partnership between
Cerner to support the clinical, operations, infrastructure, and IT support the Department of Health – Abu
services to further align with industry best practices and creating a reporting Dhabi (DOH) and Injazat, a subsidiary
strategy which helps with population management. ultimately owned by Mubadala
Investment Company.

One year after going live in August

2020, Malaffi is recognized as one
of the fastest HIE implementations
globally. Malaffi has already
connected 600 Abu Dhabi healthcare
facilities, including more than 60% of
At the same time, in Dubai, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) embarked on all hospitals in the Emirate, providing
an electronic health records system known as “Salama.” This system, which access to 26,000 users and 107 million
was announced in February 2016, has created one electronic record for each clinical records, for 4 million patients.
resident who uses a public hospital in that emirate. Abu Dhabi residents will soon even
be able to access medical records via
The ultimate goal of all of the above initiatives is a unified national database
their smartphones. Malaffi’s mobile
of patients’ medical records. In May 2015, the U.A.E. Cabinet backed the
telephone application will enable
establishment of such a database, which it envisaged would take four years.
patients to view their medical history
The pace of this digitization was increased during the pandemic. During a and other important information
May 2020 webinar hosted by the Business Council, Malaffi CEO Atif Al Braiki such as treatment plans, medication,
said the company accelerated the rollout of its platform, especially in labs, and test results.
and is now working to improve gaps in data quality and interoperability.
Indeed, Malaffi was an instrumental part of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi’s
Covid-19 response. Having already begun with the onboarding of healthcare
providers, Malaffi was prepared when the pandemic struck to accelerate, and
immediately centralize, Covid-19 laboratory test results from all testing sites
in Abu Dhabi. This enabled the creation of a real-time database of laboratory
results that helped the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi strengthen its It will connect more
Covid-19 response by assessing the effectiveness of the preventive measures than 2,000 Abu Dhabi
and allowed the efficient allocation of resources, better capacity utilization,
and coordination of care across the Emirate.
healthcare providers

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Laboratory Technologies
The U.A.E. sought to build up its laboratory testing capabilities well before
the pandemic, with the National Reference Laboratory (NRL), part of
Mubadala Healthcare’s network, a case in point. The National Reference
Laboratory offers more than 4,700 sophisticated and specialized medical
diagnostic tests to regional healthcare providers and serves healthcare
facilities in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai as well as the Northern
Emirates. As one of the few Biosafety Level 3 labs in the U.A.E., The National
Reference Laboratory is well-positioned to provide fast and accurate results
with its fully automated laboratory testing system, which eliminates human
contamination of samples. It was created in partnership with, and is managed The NRL offers more
by, Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp), one of the world’s largest than
and most experienced clinical laboratory operators.

4,700
sophisticated tests

During the pandemic, the U.A.E. moved quickly to vastly expand its Covid-19
testing capabilities. As of mid-September, the country had conducted over 8 As of mid-
million such tests. As a result, the U.A.E. ranked among the top countries in
the world in terms of the percentage of its population tested for the virus. September, the
Relatedly, in June 2020, Group 42, a U.A.E.-based artificial intelligence and
country had
cloud computing company, announced the development of a new population conducted over 8
scale technology that can detect Covid-19. Moreover, they announced that
this solution, partly based on the loop-mediated isothermal amplification
million tests
technique, is being incorporated into the U.A.E.’s national testing strategy
and is expected to scale to hundreds of thousands of samples daily.

Medical Devices & Equipment

U.A.E. hospitals and clinics boast world-class medical devices and equipment, often procured from leading U.S.
companies. GE Healthcare, for instance, has deep relationships in the U.A.E., and its MRI scanners proliferate
throughout the country. Medical devices and equipment from Abbott, Medtronic, and Johnson and Johnson are
also omnipresent.

Groundbreaking technologies, such as robotic-assisted surgery equipment, are also present in the U.A.E. Robotic-
assisted surgeries allow surgeons to perform surgical procedures with greater precision and control than conventional
techniques. This cutting-edge technology enables surgeons to have better visualization through a magnified, high-
resolution image of the operating procedure leading to a more precise surgery. In turn, this usually results in less
pain, shorter recovery times, and a reduced risk of infections or other complications for patients. This pioneering
medical advancement is employed by Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi as well as the American Hospital in Dubai and Sheikh
Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi. The most common robotics-assisted procedures at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi are
cardiac, digestive diseases, urological, and gynecological procedures. In 2020, teams at the hospital performed the
first robotic “whipple” procedures to treat pancreatic and duodenal tumors in the U.A.E.

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During the pandemic, the U.A.E. has leveraged its relationships with leading companies to acquire new types of
innovative medical technologies. In April 2020, the American conglomerate GE Healthcare delivered CT scanners
fitted in shipping containers to hospitals in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain to enable safe, critical diagnosis of viral pneumonia
attributable to Covid-19. These state-of-the-art units are sited in temporary tactical areas outside the main hospital
facility, thus reducing the risk of infection, and are fitted with a filtration system that keeps out 90% of potential
contaminants. They allow physicians to complete patient lung screenings in under a minute and can serve over 100
people a day.

At the same time, the U.A.E. has sought to increase its domestic production of medical equipment using cutting-edge
technologies. Notably, Mubadala subsidiary Strata partnered with Honeywell International to set up a production
line in Al Ain capable of producing over 30 million N95 masks per year, transforming the U.A.E. from a net importer to
a net exporter of this critical personal protective equipment (PPE).

This development may be part of a larger trend of localizing production of certain medical equipment in the U.A.E.
In July 2020, Abu Dhabi’s Department of Economic Development outlined investment opportunities in 27 fields to
boost local manufacturing of basic consumer and industrial products in a push towards self-sufficiency. One of the
four areas in which the government is aiming to attract private sector investment is in medical supplies.

3D Printing
The U.A.E. has truly embraced the Returning to Normal through
power of 3D printing, as evidenced Honeywell Healthy Buildings
by its national 3D printing strategy. Solutions
This strategy aims to turn the U.A.E.
into a global 3D printing center. It During the pandemic, the U.A.E. has
calls for Emirati government entities turned to leading U.S. companies
and universities to partner with such as Honeywell to provide the
businesses from around the globe to technologies that enable them to
produce a wide variety of 3D printed return to a semblance of normal. In
goods, including for the health and response to the global pandemic,
science sectors. Honeywell has launched an
integrated set of solutions to help
In keeping with the above, Dubai building owners improve the health of
Healthcare Authority (DHA) has their building environments, operate
its own 3D printing strategy. more cleanly and safely, comply with
They partnered with an additive social distancing policies, and help
manufacturing healthcare specialist reassure occupants returning to the
firm to open an innovation center workplace. By integrating air quality,
in January 2020 that, among other safety, and security technologies
things, prints prosthetics limbs and along with advanced analytics,
teeth. This center also provides medical professional at DHA hospitals with Honeywell’s Healthy Buildings
patient specific anatomical models, allowing them to conduct detailed pre- solutions are designed to help
operative analysis, reduce surgery times, and thus save costs. building owners minimize potential
risks of contamination and create
During the pandemic, 3D printing took on new applications focused on
business continuity by monitoring
increasing the production of medical equipment and supplies to support
both the building environment
frontline workers battling Covid-19. For instance, in May 2020, NYU Abu
and building occupants’ behaviors.
Dhabi started collaborating with Mubadala Healthcare to create 3D
Honeywell Healthy Buildings
printed N-95 masks that are more environmentally friendly while still
solutions can increasingly be found
providing the same level of protection against Covid-19 and other diseases.
throughout the U.A.E.

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The Internet of Medical Things
The U.A.E. has also long recognized the promise of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), a system of interrelated
health services and medical devices as well as software applications that do not require human-to-computer or
human-to-human interaction. This is especially the case as this technology can improve the management of chronic
diseases, which are very prevalent in the U.A.E.

Again, the pandemic has only further demonstrated the utility of the Internet of Medical Things, as remote
monitoring devices have helped monitor patients in a non-hospital setting. U.A.E. health authorities are also using
smart wristbands to track and monitor patients with mild symptoms as they self-quarantine at home.

Case Study – Mubadala Investments in Healthcare Technology

The U.A.E. is not only trying to bring high-quality healthcare
technology to its shores but entities such as Mubadala are investing
in innovative healthcare technology abroad. Mubadala has redoubled
its commitment to investing in healthcare as a result of the Covid-19
pandemic, creating a dedicated fund for this purpose. The fund would
accelerate the growth of innovative life sciences and healthcare
companies over the coming decade with a focus on next-generation
therapeutics, digital health, preventative healthcare as well as
clinical and non-clinical workflow optimization. One of Mubadala’s
key contributions to the U.A.E.’s agile response to the Covid-19 pandemic is launching the #WeAreDedicated
campaign, through which Mubadala has been collaborating with multiple front-line public and private sector
players to coordinate national efforts to tackle the pandemic and mitigate its impact. In line with its drive
to strengthen the U.A.E.’s leading role in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic on an international scale,
Mubadala Healthcare is partly-funding the trial of an immune-dampening drug in the United Kingdom that will
help patients with diabetes overcome the effects of the virus.

Looking Ahead
According to the research firm Research and Markets, the U.A.E. healthcare Annual Growth of the Healthcare Sector
sector is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around 10% +
from 2019 to 2023. Moreover, overall healthcare spending is projected to +
10%

account for 5.1% of the country’s GDP by 2029 (up from 3.7% in 2019). This +
10%

bodes well for the continued growth and expansion of the medtech sector in +
10%

the U.A.E., especially as the U.A.E. seeks to harness this technology to reduce +
10%

healthcare costs through more preventative medicine and eliminating 10%

unnecessary tests. 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Moreover, the country’s experience with managing Covid-19 will likely

permanently change the way healthcare is conceived and will further
accelerate the pace of adoption and investment of the U.A.E. in new medical
technologies. The U.A.E. has now experienced the benefits of telemedicine
and electronic medical records, and new systems are in place that will enable
these benefits to be realized in future. At the same time, the U.A.E. will likely
continue to increase its local testing capacity and ability to domestically
produce vital medical equipment so as to be as prepared as possible for Healthcare
future health crises. projected
spending is 5.1%
To further bolster the medtech sector and ensure the business vertical’s GDP by 2029
continued growth in the U.A.E., the country should ensure data privacy
laws continue to encourage international investment and involvement in
healthcare. In addition, healthcare and medtech should be a main topic of
discussion during the annual U.S.-U.A.E. economic policy dialogue, as the
U.S. and U.A.E. broker new and expanded partnerships to bring best-in-class
medical technology to the U.A.E.

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