The latest news from the Saudi healthcare and life science industry, including how the implementation of COVID-19 measures have helped reduce the prevalence of MERS-CoV in the country, regulatory approval for Alvotech and Bioventure’s Humira biosimilar, and Open Medical’s new partnership with Tamer Group around digital transformation solutions.
As Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit begins, Kingdom aspires for leadership in the field (Arab News)
Prince Abdullah bin Bandar, the Saudi minister of National Guard, on Wednesday officially opened the two-day Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit 2023.
The opening day included sessions covering a number of topics, including cellular and genetic therapy, vaccines for infectious diseases, cancer vaccines, genetics and precision medicine for rare diseases, and clinical trials, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Saudi Arabia’s COVID-19 measures helped reduce prevalence of MERS: WHO (Al Arabiya English)
Safety measures implemented by Saudi Arabia to reduce the spread of COVID-19 has helped reduce the number of cases of its predecessor Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In 2012, years before the first recorded case of COVID-19, its predecessor MERS – a coronavirus-type disease from the same viral family as COVID-19 or SARS – was first recorded in Saudi Arabia and led to hundreds of deaths across the Arab world.
Saudi Arabia shut 194 health facilities in one year (Gulf News)
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health (MoH) has revealed it has shut down 194 health facilities in the Kingdom over a year after they were found violating regulations, local media reported.
The institutions include 10 hospitals, 135 medical complexes, 9 pharmacies, and other 40 institutions related to health sector.
While 2,420 penalties were slapped on health practitioners, the total number of precautionary violations reached 44,849, of which 3,058 for individuals, and 4,1791 for health institutions.
Alvotech and Bioventure Announce Approval of AVT02 (adalimumab) as Simlandi in Saudi Arabia (StreetInsider.com)
Alvotech (NASDAQ: ALVO) and Bioventure, a wholly owned subsidiary of GlobalOne Healthcare Holding LLC (“GHH”), the healthcare division of Yas Holding LLC, today announced that the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (“SFDA”) has approved the manufacturing and distribution of AVT02, a biosimilar for Humira® (adalimumab), which is commonly indicated for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and several other inflammatory diseases. The biosimilar will be marketed as Simlandi™ in Saudi Arabia.
Open Medical is thrilled to announce an exciting new partnership with Tamer Group to deliver Open Medical’s award-winning, market-leading digital transformation solutions to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Through this partnership, we are proud to be supporting the Kingdom on the healthcare transformation journey towards Vision 2030.
