KAIMRC Medical Biotechnology Park is launching a set of Innovation Programs dedicated to strategic partnerships with government, academic and industrial entities locally and globally with the aim to:

• Contribute to the ongoing transition of KSA economy from one based on natural resources to one based on knowledge and innovation with special emphasis on medical R&D
• Tackle diseases of highest incidence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with global impact in order to be aligned with the national vision of providing excellent healthcare through innovation.
• Accelerate the set up of applied Research and ensure a direct impact on patients care by setting up, a world-class medical R&D, biotechnology and biopharmaceutical hub at MNG-HA/KAIMRC
• Rapidly build one of the world’s leading hubs for precision medicine in KSA

Innovation Program on Cancer

Developing Better diagnostics and Cure for Cancer

Despite the significant progress in cancer diagnosis and treatment in recent years, there remain some areas with very high levels of unmet medical or research need .We have entered a new era for cancer medicine. Personalized and precision medicine for cancer based on “omics” platform will allow tackling the humongous burden that cancer represents for humanity. It is clear that major translational progresses in cancer care will only be made through a multidisciplinary and integrated approach.
We can no longer continue using the same general therapeutic approaches that have clearly been shown not to be equally effective for all patients with the same cancer type and in large cases with very devastating outcomes. It is now time to invest further in tailored therapeutic approaches that are primarily based on each individual genetic makeup. That is the concept of precision medicine for cancer.

Innovation Program on Diabetes

Developing Better diagnostics and Cure for Diabetes

The need for regenerative medicine has never been greater. The majority of chronic diseases–including diabetes, heart failure, and many neurologic diseases-are due to extensive cellular death or severe dysfunction of cells. Regenerative biology advances have the potential to replace lost or damaged cells with new ones, effectively restarting the clock with new tissue. While traditional pharmaceutical companies focus on products that delay the progression of disease or relieve symptoms, regenerative biology has the potential for true cures for major diseases.
Autologous pluripotent stem cells can now be reproducibly generated from small samples of skin or blood, and this has inspired the concept of regenerative therapies that will not require immunosuppression. We believe that it is time to take this concept forward with a determined effort to show what stem cell biology can accomplish in human trials.

Innovation Program on Genomic Medicine

Developing Better diagnostics and Treatments for Genetic Diseases in Saudi Families

The genetic disorders that affect the Saudi child represent a huge economic and emotional burden, yet remain remarkably poorly understood. Developmental orphan disorders and many other malformations reflect a great diversity of causes, largely genetic. Hundreds of different genes can give rise to any one of these developmental disorders and possibly also other chronic diseases such as metabolic disorders, cancer and neurological diseases. This genetic diversity, or “heterogeneity,” has thwarted attempts to identify genetic causes for more than a handful of conditions, leaving many families of affected children without the benefit of a specific diagnosis. Yet, definitive mechanistic diagnoses are the only way forward towards the treatments of the future precision and personalized medicine.

Innovation Program

Gene and Stem Cell Therapy Program

Gene therapy approaches using viral vectors can potentially halt or delay cell death by delivering neurotrophic factors, anti-apoptotic genes, knocking down expression of dominant genes or restoring protein levels by gene replacement. Numerous new delivery vectors are opening up new approaches for the treatment of human diseases. These vectors have been refined to very high safety and efficiency levels and can be produced safely for the clinic.
Genetic disorders and birth defects are poorly treated illnesses with only a few, recently approved therapies. Therefore, there is considerable need for establishing novel research strategies to gain insight into genetic disorders on a cellular level that can eventually lead to novel therapies and intervention tools that improve the quality of life for these patients. The Therapy Development Research Program (TDRP) will focus on two main Tracks of gene therapy; (A) Gene therapy by Small RNA interference (siRNAs); (B) Gene therapy Induced Pluripotent “stem” (iPS).

For further information to potential partners and collaborators on any of these innovations programs, please contact us through: KAIMRC-KMBP@NGHA.MED.SA