Biongevity celebrates success of world's first longevity fitness challenge in UAE
Biongevity, a subsidiary of BioAro and a global leader in AI-driven health analytics, genomics, and longevity science, has successfully concluded the world's first longevity fitness challenge in the UAE. The groundbreaking 30-day challenge, held in December, saw 1,487 participants collectively walk 11,704,796 steps, setting a new benchmark for health and wellness engagement in the region.
Based on longevity research, walking 10,000 steps per day can contribute to an additional day of life expectancy. With this remarkable achievement, challenge participants collectively added an estimated 1,170 days to their lifespans, demonstrating the tangible impact of consistent movement on longevity. On average, each participant extended their lifespan by approximately 19 hours.
The challenge saw fierce competition, with Muhammad Rizwan Arif emerging as the UAE longevity fitness champion, logging the highest number of steps in 30 days. His achievement underscores the importance of movement in extending healthspan and optimising overall well-being.
One of the most popular features of the challenge was the Biongevity app's AI-powered facial recognition-based blood pressure measurement. This technology provided participants with real-time cardiovascular health insights without the need for traditional cuffs, making it easier than ever to track and improve heart health.
Biongevity expands in the UAE with new longevity health plans
The future of healthcare is shifting beyond disease treatment towards optimising healthspan, preventing age-related decline, and enhancing peak physiological performance through precision-based interventions.
Building on the momentum of the longevity fitness challenge, Biongevity is expanding its presence in the UAE with cutting-edge longevity programmes that transition healthcare from reactive to proactive. These programmes incorporate multi-omics testing, biological age tracking, and regenerative medicine to help individuals maintain peak health and delay age-related decline.
Biongevity's proprietary BioELR (electronic longevity records) system integrates genomic sequencing, epigenetic analysis, metabolic profiling, and gut microbiome assessments to provide AI-powered, real-time insights into biological ageing, immune function, and cellular resilience. Combined with the Biongevity app, users receive continuous health monitoring, predictive analytics, and expert longevity coaching for optimised well-being.
Comprehensive health plans
The company is introducing the GCC's most comprehensive health plans that cover Dermatology, Dental health, Cardiology, Internal medicine, Family medicine, Psychology, Men and Women health, Immunisations, Homecare, Nutrition, and exercise programmes. These specialised services ensure that individuals receive a 360-degree health strategy tailored to their specific needs including telemedicine services.
Biongevity offers three exclusive longevity programs:
Biongevity Core: Entry-level plan featuring biological age tracking, metabolic efficiency optimisation, and predictive health insights, with the price of Dh30,000 per year (Dh2,500/month).
Biongevity Plus: Enhanced program with advanced genomic testing, epigenetic reprogramming, and gut microbiome optimization to boost immunity, cognitive function, and metabolic stability, pricing starts at Dh60,000 per year (Dh5,000/month).
Biongevity Elite: The most advanced longevity program with unlimited access to various healthcare providers, and does integrate stem cell therapy, peptide infusions, NAD+ restoration, regenerative medicine, and AI-driven longevity strategies as needed, pricing starts at Dh120,000 per year (Dh10,000/month).
Positioning itself as a global leader in premium longevity solutions, Biongevity ensures its programmes remain accessible while delivering cutting-edge health optimisation. These exclusive packages are available in limited quantities, with a growing waitlist for early access.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arabian Business
18 hours ago
- Arabian Business
Inside Insilico's bid to create the UAE's first homegrown cancer drug
Clinical-stage biotech company Insilico Medicine recently announced it will attempt to discover the first novel cancer drug developed entirely in the United Arab Emirates with just four scientists and its proprietary AI platform to complete work that traditionally takes hundreds of researchers and years of effort. The Abu Dhabi-based team aims to identify promising cancer targets, design new molecules, and prepare a complete preclinical data package within 18 months—a process that typically takes pharmaceutical companies three to five years and costs hundreds of millions of dollars. 'Our Masdar City centre already hosts around 60 AI and biotech specialists. By tasking four of them with a complete end-to-end discovery run, we aim to prove that any GCC nation equipped with cloud compute, wet-lab automation and local talent can create world-class therapeutics,' Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine, told Arabian Business. The initiative represents both a scientific experiment and a geopolitical statement as it has the potential to transform the Middle East's role in global pharmaceutical development while challenging fundamental assumptions about where and how drug discovery can occur in the AI era. Four scientists, one AI The team consists of two computational chemists, one medicinal chemist, and one translational biologist – a deliberately lean operation working alongside Insilico's proprietary AI system, They are targeting what the company describes as 'medium-novelty and genetically validated synthetic-lethality targets' for solid tumours –essentially, seeking ways to kill cancer cells by exploiting specific genetic vulnerabilities. In pharmaceutical terms, the team is working at breakneck speed. Their roadmap calls for finalising a biological target by Q3 2025, generating promising molecular structures in under 30 days, and completing the entire preclinical package within 18 months. Traditional drug discovery typically takes three to five years just to reach the preclinical stage. 'Humans still design strategy and verify results, but AI handles the brute-force search, learns from every experiment in real time, and steers us away from dead ends,' explained Zhavoronkov. His description evokes a chess grandmaster working with a silicon partner—humans providing intuition and judgment, the machine crunching through billions of possibilities. Why the UAE? The choice of Abu Dhabi might seem puzzling at first. The UAE has invested heavily in healthcare infrastructure, but it remains far from established biotech hubs like Boston, San Francisco, or Cambridge. For Zhavoronkov, that's precisely the point. 'The reason we chose the UAE is because we already have a base there,' he said, referring to the AI Research and Development Centre that Insilico opened in Masdar City in 2023 with support from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. 'UAE scientists helped discover a drug but they never tried to take full control over the drug discovery program.' This initiative – which Zhavoronkov is careful to note is self-funded by Insilico, not UAE government money – is as much about proving a concept as it is about discovering a specific drug. If a small team in Abu Dhabi can successfully identify a viable cancer treatment, it suggests that any country with sufficient computing resources and a small cadre of specialists could potentially develop life-saving medications. 'Not just lucky' Insilico's approach builds on research dating back to 2016, when the company published one of the first papers describing how generative adversarial networks (GANs) – the same AI architecture later used in image generators like DALL-E – could design novel molecules. The biotech landscape is littered with AI companies that promised to revolutionise drug discovery but delivered little. Zhavoronkov seems acutely aware of this skepticism. 'Since 2021 we have nominated 22 development candidates, advanced 10 into the clinic, completed four Phase I trials and a Phase IIa – without a single clinical failure,' he said. 'Those numbers convert skepticism into evidence.' Asked why Insilico has succeeded where others have not, Zhavoronkov pointed to four specific factors: 'Pristine, well-curated data – quantity without quality is noise; a closed experimental loop where every prediction is rapidly tested in-house and fed back to the models; deep integration of AI engineers, biologists and chemists under one roof… and many experimentally-validated AI models that we know worked in real world.' In an industry where approximately 90 per cent of drug candidates fail during development, Insilico's lead drug, Rentosertib, recently showed positive results in a Phase IIa trial for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (a serious lung disease that causes scarring of the lungs). The company reported that Rentosertib demonstrated favourable safety and tolerability across all dose levels, with promising early efficacy signals after just 12 weeks of treatment. In January 2025, Nature Biotechnology published a paper detailing Rentosertib's journey from AI algorithms to clinical trials – the first comprehensive account of an AI-discovered and AI-designed drug from initial concept to human testing. The company is already planning to expand across the Gulf region. Insilico recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Investment and plans to establish an operation in Riyadh by 2026, with partial funding from Aramco's Prosperity7 Ventures. The company is also in discussions with Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman about potential expansion. 'If the pilot hits its timelines, we will deploy identical micro-teams across the region, accelerating the sovereign drug-discovery capabilities where it matters most,' Zhavoronkov said. The bigger picture Beyond regional implications, Insilico's experiment touches on a profound question: does drug discovery still need massive teams, extensive physical infrastructure, and geographical proximity to traditional biotech clusters? 'The goal is to have multiple AI-originated drugs approved and on pharmacy shelves, with a steady stream of new candidates entering the clinic every year,' he said. '[For Insilico Medicine,] success looks like regulators, payers and physicians treating AI-designed medicines as the norm – much like jetliners are now designed in silico.' Alex Aliper, Co-Founder and President of Insilico Medicine, framed the effort in economic terms, suggesting that channelling the Gulf's 'deep technology' investments into 'life-saving medicines offers the fastest way to diversify economies and extend healthy longevity' in the region.
Khaleej Times
3 days ago
- Khaleej Times
Saal.ai and Intertec Systems announce strategic collaboration
a cognitive technology company wholly owned by Abu Dhabi Capital Group (ADCG), and a leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data innovation, has announced a strategic collaboration with Intertec Systems, a regionally recognized digital transformation and cybersecurity solutions provider, to jointly deliver cutting-edge AI and Big Data use cases across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. At the core of this partnership is DigiXT – a Made-in-UAE Big Data platform developed by Designed to meet the strategic needs of governments and enterprises in the region, DigiXT empowers clients to extract actionable insights from complex and large-scale data ecosystems while retaining full data sovereignty and operational control. What makes DigiXT uniquely valuable is its flexible deployment capability—it can be implemented both on-premises and on the cloud, giving organizations the confidence to align their digital initiatives with their specific security, compliance, and performance requirements. This level of control ensures that customers benefit from a powerful, scalable, and secure data foundation without compromising on regulatory expectations. The partnership leverages deep domain expertise in AI, machine learning, and data engineering, and combines it with Intertec Systems' strong regional presence, digital & cloud capabilities, and delivery excellence. Founded in 1991, Intertec Systems brings over three decades of success across sectors including public sector, healthcare, utilities, financial services, and enterprises. Vikraman Poduval, CEO of said: 'With DigiXT, we're not just delivering technology—we're enabling digital independence for the region. Intertec's strong local credibility and execution strength make them the ideal partner to scale this impact across the GCC.' For his part, Naresh Kothari, Managing Director, Intertec Systems added: 'This partnership with is a powerful step forward in delivering regionally developed, secure, and intelligent platforms. With digiXT, we aim to help our clients transform faster, smarter, and with greater control.' This collaboration represents a shared commitment to building future-ready digital capabilities, promoting regional innovation, and advancing data-driven transformation underpinned by strategic autonomy and technological excellence.
Khaleej Times
5 days ago
- Khaleej Times
AI hearing aid mimics human brain with 80 million real-time sound adjustments per hour
This Better Hearing Month, Starkey MEA is shining a spotlight on its most intelligent hearing solution to date — Edge AI — as part of an ongoing drive to promote hearing health awareness across the Middle East. Designed to replicate how the human brain processes sound, Edge AI performs up to 80 million personalised hearing adjustments per hour, helping users stay connected, confident, and comfortable in any environment. At the core of Edge AI is Starkey's groundbreaking G2 Neuro Processor, which boasts six times more transistors, ten times more memory, and four times faster processing than its predecessor. This advanced chip enables the device to automatically adapt to complex listening environments — whether it's a family majlis in the UAE, a bustling street in Jeddah, or a shopping mall in Kuwait City — ensuring seamless auditory clarity in real time. 'Edge AI isn't just a hearing aid — it's a technological breakthrough designed for real life,' said Giscard Bechara, Regional Director, MEA, Starkey Laboratories Inc. 'It's already changing lives across the GCC and wider region. And with May being Better Hearing Month, we want to remind the public that better hearing starts with a simple, preventive check-up. Early diagnosis makes all the difference.' Edge AI is equipped with features that enhance the user experience across connectivity, wellness, and convenience. These include Bluetooth LE Audio for seamless, energy-efficient streaming, Auracast™ broadcast capability, and a 60% smaller StarLink Edge TV Streamer for direct television audio. Select waterproof models offer up to 51 hours of battery life, while Neuro Sound Technology 2.0 delivers 30% more accurate speech detection in noisy environments. 'Edge AI has redefined what hearing support means for someone like me who is constantly in professional and social settings. Its real-time adaptability across complex environments — from lecture halls to roundtable discussions — has restored not just my ability to hear, but also my confidence to engage fully. For the first time in years, I feel truly connected to the conversations around me. For professionals like me, who rely heavily on communication, this technology is more than a device — it's a lifeline,' said Dr. Mohamed Ali Eltom, Chairman of the International Diabetes Federation for the MENA region and a hearing loss patient. In addition, the device supports a holistic approach to hearing health with tools such as sensor-driven balance assessments, fall detection alerts, and smartwatch integration via the My Starkey mobile app — allowing users to manage hearing settings and track wellness on the go. With hearing loss affecting a growing number of people across the Middle East — including younger individuals exposed to prolonged noise and an ageing population — Starkey MEA is working closely with audiologists and clinics to raise awareness, encourage early screenings, and provide hands-on access to its cutting-edge technology throughout Better Hearing Month. 'Better hearing leads to better living,' added Bechara. 'This month is not only about showcasing our most powerful solution, Edge AI — it's about empowering people to take the first step toward hearing health.'
