Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
Burjeel Holdings has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Avatrial, a UK-based biotechnology company, to explore the development of a first-of-its-kind integrated AI-powered cancer drug discovery ecosystem in Abu Dhabi.
The MoU was signed at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit in the presence of Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, Chairman and CEO of Burjeel Holdings. Prof. Khaled Musallam, Group Chief Research Officer at Burjeel Holdings, and Prof. Kourosh Saeb-Parsy, Founder and CEO of Avatrial and Professor at the University of Cambridge.
The collaboration will bring together Burjeel Holdings’ clinical expertise and patient-centred research infrastructure with Avatrial’s AI-powered biotechnology platform. The proposed model aims to use insights from cancer patients to identify and develop promising new treatments, with the potential to advance them into clinical trials.
The initiative supports Burjeel 2.0, the Group’s transformation strategy to advance complex care, clinical research, and AI integration across its healthcare ecosystem. It also reflects Burjeel’s broader ambition to build capabilities in therapeutic innovation while contributing to support Abu Dhabi’s vision of becoming a global hub for life sciences, precision medicine, and healthcare innovation.
The proposed discovery-to-clinic model will integrate clinical data, molecular analysis, and experimental research to investigate the biological mechanisms of cancer and identify potential treatment approaches. It will leverage Burjeel Holdings’ clinical network and Burjeel Cancer Institute's oncology expertise, alongside Avatrial’s multi-omics technologies and patient-derived experimental models.
Through this framework, ethically consented surplus tumour tissue and de-identified clinical data could be analysed, subject to the necessary regulatory and ethical approvals. AI-assisted molecular profiling would help researchers identify potential therapeutic targets, while patient-derived models would be used to assess and validate promising drug candidates.
Candidates that demonstrate potential through pre-clinical evaluation could subsequently enter clinical development, subject to further agreements and regulatory approvals. Nurion CRO, affiliated with Burjeel, is expected to support the clinical research and trial development process.
Prof. Khaled Musallam, Group Chief Research Officer at Burjeel Holdings, said, "Our ambition is to move beyond conducting clinical trials of medicines developed elsewhere and become an active contributor to the discovery and development of new therapies. By connecting our patients, clinical expertise, and research infrastructure with Avatrial's advanced discovery platform and the University of Cambridge’s preclinical research capabilities, we aim to build an ecosystem where scientific discoveries originate from real-world patient needs and ultimately translate into new treatment opportunities. This collaboration reflects our commitment to positioning Abu Dhabi as a global destination for biotechnology innovation and drug development.”
Prof. Kourosh Saeb-Parsy, Founder and CEO of Avatrial, said, "Our mission is to eliminate waste and noise from every step of preclinical cancer drug discovery to help develop better therapies faster. We do this by connecting patient tissue, deep multi-omic data, AI-driven analysis, and patient-derived models in one continuous re-iterating loop. Burjeel's clinical network and ambition help us create important synergies in Abu Dhabi, and we see the potential for this model to serve patients across the GCC and beyond. We are delighted to be partnering with Burjeel.”
Burjeel brings an established foundation in complex oncology, precision medicine, and translational research to the proposed partnership. Burjeel Medical City in Abu Dhabi serves as a flagship centre for complex cancer care, bringing together multidisciplinary teams to manage challenging cases.
The Group’s research portfolio includes clinical trials, scientific collaborations, and programmes focused on rare blood disorders, precision medicine, and emerging cell and gene therapies. Its Centre for Research on Rare Blood Disorders (CR-RBD) has established a strong international research presence, contributing to advances in diagnosing and treating complex hematological conditions.
The collaboration will begin with a feasibility programme involving selected solid tumours to assess integrating clinical samples, molecular profiling, AI-based analysis, and experimental validation within a coordinated research framework. The findings will inform decisions on potential joint therapeutic development programme, opportunities to strengthen local research infrastructure, and the expansion of scientific capabilities in Abu Dhabi.
