Abu Dhabi's DoH And Roche Middle East Sign MoU To Elevate Healthcare Services

The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Roche Middle East during Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week (ADGHW). This collaboration aims to enhance innovation, health services, and treatment options available to patients in the Emirate.

The MoU was signed by Dr. Asma Al Mannaei, Executive Director of the Research and Innovation Centre at DoH, and Mohamed Elshaarawy, General Manager of Roche UAE. The signing ceremony was attended by Dr. Rashed Alsuwaidi, Executive Director of the Healthcare Workforce Planning Sector at DoH, and Michael Oberreiter, Head of Global Access at Roche.

Dr. Asma Ibrahim Al Mannaei highlighted Abu Dhabi's commitment to leveraging data for healthcare advancements. She stated that Abu Dhabi's substantial computing power allows it to transform data into valuable information, fostering innovation in prediction, prevention, and treatment. This approach aims to accelerate healthcare advancements globally.

The MoU focuses on two main pillars of collaboration. Firstly, the entities will work together to support the evolution of real-world data collection frameworks in Abu Dhabi. This will enable evidence-generation activities targeted at monitoring rare and priority diseases as assigned by DoH and agreed upon by Roche.

Secondly, the partnership aims to enhance DoH's ability to track and monitor therapy outcomes. This will support informed clinical and policy decisions, optimising patient outcomes. Additionally, DoH and Roche will strengthen the research network across Abu Dhabi and improve accrual for potential clinical trials.

Mohamed Elshaarawy emphasised the importance of data-driven healthcare systems in improving patient care and outcomes. He noted that through the generation and utilisation of data, healthcare professionals can unlock valuable insights, identify trends, and make evidence-based decisions.

This approach enables resource optimisation, personalised treatment approaches, and ultimately better patient outcomes. Elshaarawy expressed gratitude for the trust and confidence placed by DoH in establishing this public-private partnership with Roche in the UAE.

Research Focus Areas

Under the MoU, critical research using real-world data will be advanced to study spinal muscular atrophy burden in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, research will be conducted to facilitate real-world data collection for monitoring Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

A key priority will be supporting real-world data research and developing data collection frameworks for these disease areas. This will enable DoH to address local and regional health needs effectively.

This collaboration between DoH and Roche represents a significant step towards enhancing healthcare services in Abu Dhabi through data-driven approaches and international partnerships.

With inputs from WAM