Abu Dhabi has treated more than 370 patients from abroad with advanced gene therapies between 2020 and 2026, with the estimated medicine value for international patients reaching Dh3.3 billion, figures showed.
The data, disclosed publicly for the first time, was shared on October 20 at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit by Dr Fatima Alkabi, executive director of the Abu Dhabi Bone Marrow Transplant Programme at ADSCC and Yas Clinic.
She said approximately 400 patients in total received advanced gene therapies in the UAE over the six-year period. Conditions treated included sickle cell disease, thalassemia, spinal muscular atrophy and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, with global partners such as Roche and Novartis among those involved.
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“For decades, patients travelled the world in search of hope. Today, patients from around the world are travelling to the UAE to find it,” Alkabi said.
Among the treatments driving that shift is a CRISPR gene-editing programme for inherited blood disorders. The therapy collects a patient’s own stem cells, corrects the faulty gene in a laboratory, and returns the repaired cells to the body.
Alkabi said the process is more involved than it may appear. “This is not a simple injection. It’s an extraordinary medical journey, assessment, stem cell mobilisation, gene editing, conditioning chemotherapy, engraftment, recovery, and long-term follow-up,” she said. “Safe gene therapy requires an entire health ecosystem, and that is what we are building in Abu Dhabi.”
To date, 18 patients aged between 12 and 43 have been treated under the programme, with 29 approved and awaiting treatment. All patients achieved stable blood cell production within 100 days and none required transfusions. A notable 42 per cent of those treated were older than 35, beyond the age range studied in the original clinical trials.
“We are not only adopting innovation here. We are helping build the evidence for its future,” Alkabi said.
She illustrated the figures through the story of Fahad, a 29-year-old Emirati who spent his life moving between hospitals and transfusions after being born with sickle cell disease and G6PD deficiency. “Behind every number is a patient, a family, a tribe in the UAE, and a different possible future,” she said. “Remember the families, not the dirhams.”
Minister of State Sheikh Shakhbut bin Nahyan Al Nahyan said in his keynote address that the Emirati Genome Programme has collected nearly one million genetic samples linked to more than 3,000 healthcare facilities and over 3.5 million clinical records. “The question before us is not whether innovation works. It is whether we can deliver at scale to everyone, and above all, those furthest behind,” he said.
The Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit continues until Thursday, October 22, under the patronage of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khalid bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with sessions on cancer care, digital health and healthy living still ahead.