One-stop shop helping revolutionize Mideast’s healthcare sector

Exclusive One-stop shop helping revolutionize Mideast’s healthcare sector
A handheld ultrasound device from a company called Butterfly connects to a cellphone and gives access to ultrasound imaging to users anytime. (Supplied)
Short Url
Updated 02 February 2023

One-stop shop helping revolutionize Mideast’s healthcare sector

One-stop shop helping revolutionize Mideast’s healthcare sector
  • Abdul Latif Jameel Health to offer underserved populations transformative products, says CEO

RIYADH: In a short span of two years, Abdul Latif Jameel Health has successfully accelerated modern innovation to provide cutting-edge healthcare solutions to people who would otherwise not have access to it.

According to its CEO, the digitally enabled company is now focused on building a commercial platform to offer underserved populations products that are both impactful and transformative.

“Since most of the innovations happen far away in the US, Japan, or in Europe, which are the hubs of medical innovation, small companies would not initially come to our parts of the world,” Akram Bouchenaki told Arab News in an exclusive interview.

“However we, at Abdul Latif Jameel Health, are giving them a chance to very quickly broaden their footprint and immediately become a global organization with the benefit of having us as that one-stop shop organization that takes care of everything for them.”

He added: “We take the product, we register it with the local regulatory authorities, we do all the promotion, medical education to physicians and we also take care of pharmacovigilance and all the regulatory requirements. That’s really the model where we’re building with several companies.”

Innovative products

Illustrating his point of bringing innovative healthcare products to the market, Bouchenaki cites the example of a new handheld, ultrasound device from a company called Butterfly that they have introduced to the market.

It is the world’s only single probe, whole-body handheld ultrasound solution that connects to a cellphone, iPhone or Android, and then gives access to ultrasound imaging to users anytime, anywhere, and at a very affordable cost.

Healthcare providers can collect advanced imaging, perform rapid assessments, and guide critical procedures no matter where they are, and share those images seamlessly with doctors across the globe to help with reading and interpreting scans.

Fusing semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and cloud technology, the product is designed to dramatically expand the capabilities of practitioners working within and outside of hospitals in developed, underdeveloped, and remote areas. 




The company has plans to steadily grow its presence in the Kingdom, the region’s largest healthcare market. (Shutterstock)

“This is a revolutionary type of device that we introduced in India and in several markets in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Turkiye and now we are expanding to Egypt, Morocco, and other markets. It will transform the way people are diagnosed,” he said.

Bouchenaki added: “It is our mission to collaborate with sector disruptors, who question how healthcare services have always been delivered, and how billions of people in underserved communities can be served better.”

He then went on to give another example of a product that his company is getting ready to introduce with EQRx, a new type of pharmaceutical company based in Boston. “EQRx has developed innovative technologies and treatments at a fraction of the cost of what current cancer therapies cost,” Bouchenaki revealed. “Their approach is really to make innovation in oncology highly affordable.”

Abdul Latif Jameel Health has entered into a strategic collaboration with EQRx for the commercialization of two affordable novel lung cancer therapeutics to people across the Middle East, Africa and Turkiye.

These therapies will offer treatment to patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer at a fraction of the cost of existing and traditional approaches.

“This agreement comes as we forge ahead in our mission to source, collaborate with, and fund innovators within the medical world that are re-examining how to improve the current healthcare landscape by disrupting existing methods,” said Bouchenaki.

Care medicine

Abdul Latif Jameel Health is keen on the development of care medicine, whereby the company is taking care to the patient as opposed to having a patient come to the hospital or the clinic.

“These interventions can have a high impact in large countries where there are remote locations,” Bouchenaki said.

He went on to cite the example of a device from a Japanese company called Melody International that will help in the maternal-fetal area to illustrate his point. 

We’re looking at growth in terms of technology because we are really building this company as a digitally enabled company from the beginning.

Akram Bouchenaki, Abdul Latif Jameel Health CEO

“We are going to introduce this device that would be able to monitor fetus health in utero while they are in the mother’s belly and the mother’s uterine health remotely,” he said. The cloud-based mobile wireless fetal monitor platform will soon be introduced across selected markets in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

It is a convenient, smart, and highly portable remote mobile fetal monitoring device to assist in problematic or high-risk situations, enabling safer and more secure births for mothers.

Their integrated platform comprises a fetal heart monitor; a uterine contraction monitor; and a smart tablet device to see data in real time and connect to the internet.

Its effectiveness has been proven in a variety of clinical cases, including as a partial alternative to periodic medical checkups for pregnant women living in remote or isolated areas.

Key markets

Talking about Saudi Arabia, Bouchenaki said that it was critical for Abdul Latif Jameel Health to have a strong presence in the Kingdom as it is the largest healthcare market in the region by far.

“We have a team that is established in Saudi Arabia and we have an initial portfolio of products that we have brought to the Kingdom that we have registered and we’re getting ready to launch,” he explained.

He added: “We also have Japanese innovations that are already in the market like one for heart valve repair and another for post-stroke or post-trauma rehabilitation.”

Since Saudi Arabia is a key market for Abdul Latif Jameel Health, the company has plans to steadily grow its presence in the Kingdom.

Egypt, Bouchenaki said, is another very important market. “Like Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, we are also focusing on Egypt as we are looking at expanding in countries that have taken a very deliberate and proactive approach to the handling of public health issues,” he said.

“I’ve had a really good experience working in Egypt on their hepatitis C elimination program,” Bouchenaki continued. “It’s probably one of the first countries with such a high impact of hepatitis C and we’ll be able to eliminate the disease thanks to a very strong political commitment to fight this viral infection.”

With regard to the company’s outlook for the future, Bouchenaki said he saw Abdul Latif Jameel Health’s growth along three dimensions. “We see our growth in opening new territories and new markets,” he informed.

“We also see our growth in the expansion of our portfolio in terms of new disease areas — we’re looking at a number of spaces like rehab diseases, innovative surgical technologies, etc.”

“Lastly, we’re looking at growth in terms of technology because we are really building this company as a digitally enabled company from the beginning,” he added.

“The good news,” Bouchenaki concluded, “is that we don’t have a long history, so it allows us to leverage all the technology that is at our disposal today to have the fastest and most positive impact on the market.”


Scandal-plagued Japan tech giant Toshiba gets tender offer

Scandal-plagued Japan tech giant Toshiba gets tender offer
Updated 8 sec ago

Scandal-plagued Japan tech giant Toshiba gets tender offer

Scandal-plagued Japan tech giant Toshiba gets tender offer
  • Toshiba's deep troubles began with a sprawling accounting scandal in 2015, involving books being doctored for years
  • Its US nuclear arm Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy in 2017, after years of deep losses as safety costs soared

TOKYO: Scandal-embattled Japanese electronics and technology manufacturer Toshiba has accepted a 2 trillion yen ($15 billion) tender offer from Japan Industrial Partners, a buyout fund made up of the nation’s major banks and companies.
If the proposal succeeds, it will be a major step in Toshiba’s yearslong turnaround effort, allowing it to go private and delist from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. But overseas activist investors own a significant part of Toshiba’s shares, and it’s unclear if they will be happy with the latest bid.
Tokyo-based Toshiba Corp. announced its board accepted the bid at 4,620 yen ($36) a share late Thursday. Toshiba closed at 4,213 yen ($32) a share Thursday, and is trading at 4,474 yen ($34) early Friday. The offer was announced after trading closed in Tokyo.
The move comes while the world’s financial sector is in turmoil over the ripple effects from the recent collapse of banks in the US
The critical point is that the latest offer, if successful, will keep Toshiba’s business Japanese in an alliance with Japanese partners.
Japan Industrial Partners, set up in 2002 to restructure Japanese companies, lists big names among where it has invested, such as Sony, Hitachi, Olympus and NEC.
The consortium includes about 20 Japanese companies, such as Orix Corp., a financial services company, electronics manufacturer Rohm Co. and the megabanks such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., according to Japanese media reports.
The deep troubles at Toshiba began with a sprawling accounting scandal in 2015, involving books being doctored for years. That added to its woes related to its nuclear energy business.
Its US nuclear arm Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy in 2017, after years of deep losses as safety costs soared. Toshiba is also involved in the decommissioning effort at the Fukushima nuclear plant heavily damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
Toshiba has gone through several presidents over the years, as the brand once prized for making household appliances, laptops, batteries and computer chips, became the target of overseas activist shareholders.
The latest proposal still needs to go through regulatory reviews in several countries, including the US, Vietnam, Germany and Morocco. The process is expected to take several months.
Toshiba has been trying to go private in recent years. Proposals to split Toshiba into three, and then two, companies were rejected by shareholders. Delisting will allow Toshiba to leave behind the activist investors.
Toshiba had its humble beginnings in a telegraph equipment factory in 1875. The brand had been synonymous with the power of modern Japan’s manufacturing sector. It has sold parts of its operations, including its flash-memory business, now known as Kioxia, although Toshiba remains a stakeholder in Kioxia.
Whether Toshiba can get back on a solid growth track remains uncertain. Last month, Toshiba lowered its profit forecast for the fiscal year through March to 130 billion yen ($1 billion), down from an earlier projection for a 190 billion yen ($1.5 billion) profit.
 


US Commerce Department adds 14 Chinese firms to red flag list

US Commerce Department adds 14 Chinese firms to red flag list
Updated 16 min 28 sec ago

US Commerce Department adds 14 Chinese firms to red flag list

US Commerce Department adds 14 Chinese firms to red flag list
  • Chinese Embassy accuses US of abusing export control measures and using state power to suppress and contain foreign companies

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration on Thursday added 14 Chinese companies to a red flag list, forcing US exporters to conduct greater due diligence before shipping goods to them because US officials have been unable to inspect the listed entities.
Being added to the list can potentially start a 60-day clock that could trigger much tougher penalties.
“Enforcing our export controls is a crucial part of protecting American national security,” US Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves said in a statement following the announcement. “We are committed to using all of the tools at our disposal to establish how advanced US technology is being used around the globe.”
ECOM International and HK P&W Industry Co. Ltd. were among those added to the list and did not respond to requests for comment.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said “China strongly deplores and firmly opposes” moves by the United States to “abuse export control measures” and use “state power to suppress and contain foreign companies.”
“The US side should immediately stop its wrong practices. China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” the spokesperson added.
The United States has used restrictions on exports of US goods as a key tool to thwart Beijing’s technological advances, ratcheting up tensions between the two countries.

 


Fed comments, US crude stock build hit oil market

Fed comments, US crude stock build hit oil market
Updated 23 March 2023

Fed comments, US crude stock build hit oil market

Fed comments, US crude stock build hit oil market

LONDON: Oil prices dipped on Thursday, having hit their lowest since late 2021 earlier this week, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell highlighted banking sector credit risks for the world’s largest economy, while US crude stockpiles swelled.

Brent crude futures were down 54 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $76.15 a barrel at 0929 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 62 cents, or 0.9%, to $70.28.

Powell said on Wednesday that banking industry stress could trigger a credit crunch, with “significant” implications for an economy that US central bank officials projected would slow even more this year than previously thought.

HIGHLIGHTS

Goldman Sachs said on Thursday that demand from China continued to surge across the commodity complex, with oil demand topping 16 million barrels per day.

The bank forecast Brent to reach $97 a barrel in the second quarter of 2024.

US crude oil stockpiles rose unexpectedly last week to their highest in nearly two years, latest data from the Energy Information Administration showed.

Crude inventories rose in the week to March 17 by 1.1 million barrels to 481.2 million barrels, the highest since May 2021. Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected a 1.6-million-barrel drop.

The dollar slid to a seven-week low against a basket of other currencies, providing a price floor for oil as a weaker greenback makes oil cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Also supportive, Goldman Sachs said on Thursday that demand from China, the world’s biggest oil importer, continued to surge across the commodity complex, with oil demand topping 16 million barrels per day.

The bank forecast Brent to reach $97 a barrel in the second quarter of 2024.


Closing bell: TASI up on rising investor confidence 

Closing bell: TASI up on rising investor confidence 
Updated 23 March 2023

Closing bell: TASI up on rising investor confidence 

Closing bell: TASI up on rising investor confidence 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose by 95.88 points, or 0.93 percent, on Thursday to close at 10,446.39, driven by a rise in investor confidence, on the first session of Ramadan. 

The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index went up by 1.01 percent to 1,423.28, while the parallel market Nomu lost 37.60 points, or 0.20 percent, to close at 19,056.84. 

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index on Thursday was SR4.4 billion ($1.17 billion).

The top performer on Thursday was Al Kathiri Holding Co. as its share prices increased by 10 percent to SR50.60. 

Some of the other major gainers on Thursday were National Medical Care Co. and Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance Co., whose shares went up by 9.95 percent and 6.45 percent respectively. 

Thimar Development Holding Co. was the worst performer on Thursday as its share prices went down by 9.98 percent to SR48.25 at the closing bell. 

Another worst performer on Thursday was Al Sagr Cooperative Insurance Co. whose share prices went down by 9.41 percent to SR13.58. 

On the announcements front, Amana Cooperative Insurance Co. reported that it trimmed its losses to SR43.80 million in 2022, from SR121.40 million in 2021. However, that had no positive impact on its share prices which fell by 1.25 percent to SR9.46. 

Saudi Arabian Cooperative Insurance Co. also narrowed its losses in 2022. Compared to the SR62.6 million loss it incurred in 2021, the company trimmed its losses to SR37.2 million in 2022. As the company performed well in 2022 compared to 2021, its share prices rose by 1.90 percent to SR11.82. 

Another company that announced its financial report on Thursday was Sumou Real Estate Co. The firm’s net profit in 2022 rose to SR87.6 million, an 8 percent rise from SR81.2 million in the previous year. 

As the company’s profit increased, Sumou Real Estate Co.’s board of directors declared a 10 percent cash dividend for the second half of 2022, at SR1 per share, amounting to SR37.5 million, a bourse statement revealed. 

Sumou Real Estate Co.’s share prices remained unchanged at SR45 at the end of today’s trading session. 

Meanwhile, Saudi Top for Trading Co. also announced its financial results for 2022. The company reported a net profit of SR32.77 million for 2022, an increase of 92 percent from a net profit of SR17.09 million in the year-earlier period. Amid a rise in profit, the company’s share prices dipped 0.53 percent to SR93.

Saudi Airlines Catering Co. reported a net profit of SR257.10 million in 2022, from SR14.10 million in 2021. Driven by the increase in profit, the company’s board of directors recommended a 5 percent cash dividend, at SR0.5 per share, for 2022, amounting to SR41 million. 

Saudi Airlines Catering Co.’s massive rise in net profit was also reflected in its share price, as it went up by 5.06 percent to SR85.10.


Top officials review SFD-funded development projects in Senegal   

Top officials review SFD-funded development projects in Senegal   
Updated 23 March 2023

Top officials review SFD-funded development projects in Senegal   

Top officials review SFD-funded development projects in Senegal   

RIYADH: Top officials of Saudi Arabia and Senegal reviewed various development projects and programs funded by the Saudi Fund for Development as the African country aims to improve its social infrastructure.     

Senegal’s Minister of Infrastructure and Land Transport Mansour Fay called on SFD CEO Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Murshed at the fund’s headquarters in Riyadh to review the progress of work and the challenges associated with their implementation and the development of sustainable solutions for them, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 

This comes as the Kingdom is keen on pursuing development efforts in the African country through financing projects and programs that contribute to the growth of the social and economic life of the Senegalese people to achieve sustainable development in the near future. 

In addition to this, Fay was briefed on the Fund's development efforts through an introductory photo exhibition tour inside the headquarters. The Fund highlighted the most prominent development projects it finances in developing countries, and their developmental impact on the beneficiaries.  

The majority of the development projects and programs financed by the SFD fall in the social infrastructure sector in specific.   

Last December, on behalf of SFD, a rehabilitation project of the Tambacounda-Guederi road in Senegal was inaugurated by Senegalese President Macky Sall. 

The project, financed by the SFD through a soft loan of approximately $30 million, aims to rehabilitate a critical 80 km road. It will also improve roadside services, including first aid and emergency care units for individuals who have sustained injuries from road traffic accidents as well as water wells to serve travelers and residents in and around the area.    

Besides providing people and communities with increased access to vital and basic services, the development of the Tambacounda-Guederi road will improve road safety and reduce road accident fatalities.    

Given the road’s location, it will play a significant role in transforming the national economy and strengthening the infrastructure of the country’s transport sector.  

Since 1978, the SFD has funded as many as 26 projects and development programs with a total value of an estimated $447 million in Senegal. The Saudi government also provided four huge grants through the Fund with a value exceeding $19 million to contribute to the growth and prosperity of the infrastructure sectors in Senegal.