RIYADH: A leading Saudi company and a research oriented German firm signed an agreement here on Tuesday that will establish an applied Life Sciences Research and Development (R&D) Center of Excellence for the Middle East and North Africa region.
Bader Abdulaziz Kanoo, chairman of the specialized life science industry development company BioME, and Prof. Uwe Heinrich, chairman of the German Fraunhofer Association for Life Sciences, Europe’s largest applied R&D organization, signed the agreement at the Al-Khozama Hotel. “We are extremely pleased to gain the Fraunhofer Association as a partner. Applied research and development is a cornerstone of any cluster development and we are keen to develop the Kingdom into the major life sciences industry hub in the Arab world,” Kanoo said.
“Emerging economies are doing well by diversifying their industrial base and expanding the resources for building up indigenous know-how addressing the specific needs of their countries and regions,” Prof. Heinrich noted. Though life sciences industries were prominent and robust industries in the developed markets, Prof. Heinrich said they were still in their infancies in the Arab world, creating tremendous opportunities in the health, environment and agro-marine sectors.
“The Kingdom’s development in the last decade has reached an impressive level of advancement,” Michael Mueller, managing director of BioME said, adding that industrial output is becoming more and more sophisticated.