UAE: Chemo without side effects? Healthcare startups redefine treatment, prevention of illness
During the Abu Dhabi Global Health Week event, startups from around the world showcased innovations that promise to reshape how we treat, monitor, and even prevent illness.
Innovative startups in the healthcare industry are redefining how we look at health and medicine. Here are some of their creations:
Eliminating side effects
Chemotherapy is a common cancer treatment but often comes with harsh side effects, including loss of appetite, nausea, and hair loss.
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To combat this, a New York-based company, BioSapien is developing a 3D-printed biodegradable mesh that delivers chemotherapy drugs directly to the site of the tumor, thus minimising harm to the rest of the body.
Rolling out their first human clinical trials in Abu Dhabi soon, BioSapien CTO Joseph Borrelo said that the company met with the Department of Health, Abu Dhabi, to be able to move to the next phase.
He said, 'You'll get all the benefits of chemotherapy without the detriments. That's what we've seen in our animal pre-clinical testing and that's what we're preparing to do for our first in-human trial.'
Building a biological twin
Two startups are reimagining how we think about personal health data, by turning it into something you can actually see: a digital twin.
BioTwin builds virtual replicas of individuals using just a few drops of blood, combined with data from wearables and health records.
'Using artificial intelligence, we can track up to 200,000 different biomarkers,' Noel said. These samples are collected regularly to form what he calls a 'virtual twin' that can assist with early detection of diseases.
Meanwhile, eMedSupport is applying AI to improve care for cardiovascular patients. Created by cardiologist and researcher Dr Denis, the system builds digital patient profiles by analysing electronic health records against clinical guidelines. It then helps doctors assess risk factors, adjust treatment plans, and even predict outcomes over time.
'As a physician, it's hard when a patient has multiple conditions,' he said. 'This platform makes it easier to find the right treatment path.' With support from major health systems in the GCC, eMedSupport is also working with Cleveland Clinic on predictive models for cholesterol levels and disease progression.
Affordable prosthetics
Truelimbs manufactures artificial body parts for those who need help with mobility. However, unlike your typical prosthetics company, Truelimbs is centered around affordability and low costs.
Mansour Hamada, the founder and CEO of the prosthetic company, said that Truelimbs manufactures prosthetics for '$5,000 to $10,000, depending on the level and the type of prosthetic we make, whereas the average price for prosthetics in the market today are $50,000 to $70,000.
The Egyptian native said he has worked on this project for 19 years, with the stated goal of affordability in mind. 'Because of the Egyptian market and the [UAE] market, it's like a commercial market, people can't afford the cost of the prosthetic limbs. At the same time, we want to make it affordable for everyone. That's how the idea of making a low-cost prosthetic limb started,' he said.
Hamada explained that the process of obtaining a prosthetic limb includes a series of steps, which begins with a consultation and moves to receiving a mock limb. The mock limb is printed using a 3D printer along with a socket for fitting, and ends with some training for a person to get used to their new artificial limb.
Wearable thermometer for babies
Raising a newborn baby can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to your baby's high fever. Serbian company BabyFM aims to reduce that anxiety with a wearable thermometer that continuously monitors the baby's temperature and sends real-time alerts to an app. By fixing the thermometer to a baby's body in a non-invasive way, the device can constantly feed information to the BabyFM app and even create a curve of when temperatures drop or rise.
Co-founder Dr Dzihan Abazovic said, 'It's originally built with the idea to help and support the parents when you have, especially the first baby, when it has a temperature, you are not sleeping all night.' Though it has still not been rolled out in the UAE, Abazovic said it will be introduced in early June.
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