Launching the Abu Dhabi Biobank to enhance early detection of diseases and support personalized health care

The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, the regulatory body for the healthcare sector in the emirate, launched the Abu Dhabi Biobank, which is an integrated platform that links biological samples with genetic, clinical and lifestyle data, which enhances the success of early diagnosis of diseases and enables the improvement of personal care. This step represents another achievement within Abu Dhabi’s ambitious plans to transform the model of disease detection, prevention and treatment.

The launch of the biobank comes within a strategic partnership between the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi and a company M42To reflect Abu Dhabi’s efforts to transform the means of providing health care, moving from treating disease to identifying early danger signs, improving the accuracy of diagnosis, and designing the necessary and appropriate procedures for each individual’s condition.

Dr. Noura Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, said: “The healthcare sector is witnessing a major transformation in the ways of dealing with diseases, as it is moving from the traditional model based on responding to disease to a more efficient form that predicts it before it occurs and works to prevent it in the first place. Abu Dhabi Biobank comes to support this ambitious transformation by combining data, science and care in a way that benefits the lives of community members and improves their quality. It also enables us to monitor early risk indicators, design personal treatment plans in advance, and provide the best results.” For our community, while consolidating our position as a major player in the development of the global medical sector.”

The biobank is located in Masdar City and is considered an advanced, zero-emission facility. It has a capacity of more than 100,000 cord blood samples and up to five million biological samples, establishing one of the most advanced and diverse sources of health data in the region. Most importantly, the Bank offers a new model of care, one in which life sciences, data and clinical practice come together on a broad population scale to improve outcomes across the health system.

For his part, Dimitris Molavasilis, CEO of the group, said: M42: “Abu Dhabi Biobank represents an additional step in establishing the foundations of a health system that is more capable of predicting disease and providing accurate care based on data. By combining biospecimens with the capabilities of artificial intelligence, genomics, and real-world data, we enhance the speed of access to information and raise the efficiency of health decisions, ultimately improving outcomes on a large scale.”

The launch of the biobank provides key qualitative capabilities, including an integrated human biobank that links biological samples with clinical, longitudinal, genetic, and lifestyle data on a large scale, in addition to a national eye bank that enhances tissue culture capabilities locally and reduces dependence on importing them from abroad.

The Abu Dhabi Biobank was designed to be a dynamic, integrated platform that continues to integrate biological samples with actual health data, supporting prevention efforts and scientific research. Based on a population base of more than 200 nationalities, the bank enables insights that reflect the true diversity of societies, which contributes to enhancing the efficiency and reliability of medical innovations.

The Abu Dhabi Biobank was inaugurated in the presence of Mansour Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Chairman of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, and Dr. Noura Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, along with Dimitris Molavasilis, CEO of the Abu Dhabi Group. M42And Dr. Fahd Al Marzouqi, CEO of the Integrated Health Solutions Platform in M42In addition to a number of representatives of health, research and academic bodies and partners from the public and private sectors.