Saudi Biotech Center to improve the health of oil-dependent economy

As Saudi Arabia diversifies away from carbon energy to a more sustainable economy, biotechnology is a growing focal point and a key element of Vision 2030.

Biotech involves technology that uses biological systems and living organisms such as molecules to develop new products. This is a field where science meets commerce, as breakthrough medicines, biofuels, GM plants and so on are usually ‘“conceived” in a university or hospital lab and then taken to the market by private companies – a process that can take up to a decade. One Saudi biotech leader is the King Abdullah International Medical Center — the research arm of the National Guard’s Department of Health Affairs.

“Biotech is a vital and vibrant sector that has a major impact on health and the economy”, says Dr. Ahmed Alaskar, executive director, KAIMRC.

“Saudi Arabia is developing alternatives to the oil economy, and biotech is a major new source. Plus it’s an important part of the knowledge economy. Our strategy is to develop innovative products out of our research — that could be therapeutics or diagnostics or medical devices.”

Such products start their life in KAIMRC’s research labs, with its team of 70 post-doctoral scientists, supported by 20,000 staff in the National Guard’s six major hospitals and dedicated health sciences university. The goal is to take a potential product through a series of experiments and clinical trials, to the point where it can be handed over to the private sector, which will refine the product and ultimately bring it to the consumer market. One example is anti-venom remedies for scorpion stings and snakebites, which were developed by KAIMRC and already have limited global distribution.

KAIMRC works with leading academic institutions around the world. “Oxford, Harvard, Johns Hopkins – you name it”, says Dr. Alaskar.

“It’s all about medical research toward vaccines, genetic research, therapeutics, drug screening and so on. And our academic publications have been increasing 20-30 percent annually – we have exceeded 1,600 publications in peer-reviewed journals in this year alone.”

There is also close collaboration with leading health care companies such as AstraZeneca, Roche and Novartis – much of it based in KAIMRCs Medical Biotechnology Park, located within the vast National Guard compound in Southeast Riyadh.

It is a virtuous circle: The more companies that establish facilities in the Kingdom, the more will be attracted to invest — creating a biotech ecosystem that is projected to turn the KSA into a major exporter of healthcare products within the next five to 10 years.

Our strategy is to develop innovative products out of our research — that could be therapeutics or diagnostics or medical devices.

Dr. Ahmed Alaskar

Executive director, KAIMRC