Latest news with #AlZaki
Al Etihad
18-05-2025
- Health
- Al Etihad
Emirati doctor leads groundbreaking initiative in cancer treatment
18 May 2025 22:17 SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)An Emirati doctor is leading a groundbreaking initiative in cancer treatment - and once completed, it will significantly reduce the cost of advanced immunotherapy that could potentially cure patients with certain types of UAE is set to have its first local facility for manufacturing CAR T-cells, which are used in a type of immunotherapy that could cure specific blood cancers. At the helm of the initiative is Dr. Ajlan Al Zaki, Director of the Burjeel Haematology Oncology & Cellular Therapy Centre and a leading UAE specialist in CAR T-cell immunotherapy."We are starting to manufacture CAR T-cells locally in the UAE," said Dr. Al Zaki, who is taking part in the Make it in the Emirates forum that kicks off on Monday. Through the CAR T-cell route, a patient's own immune system - specifically the T cells - is used to recognise cancer cell targets and attack them. "Prior to the development of this type of therapy, patients with refractory leukaemias and lymphomas had poor outcomes. Now CAR T is a curative therapy for many of these patients and has revolutionised the treatment landscape for many haematological malignancies," Dr. Al Zaki told Aletihad. Conducting the manufacturing process within the country "significantly impacts accessibility and affordability of these therapies", the specialist added. The use of local talent and facilities will not only reduce costs, it will also ensure that the treatment will be available to patients as soon as possible."It enables us to avoid shipping and manufacturing costs abroad and provide rapid, on-site manufacturing to provide timely delivery of these treatments before patients deteriorate. It also allows us to use fresh, never-frozen immune cells, which have their own anti-cancer benefits," Dr. Al Zaki said. Instead of having to wait several weeks for cells manufactured abroad, patients will be able to receive UAE-made T-cells within days. "The idea is to expand access and democratise the cost of treatments, so more patients, not just a narrow subset, can benefit. What we are doing here will offer the same quality as other leading therapies worldwide, but at a fraction of the cost," Dr. Al Zaki said. The UAE has become a leading hub for clinical and biotechnological innovation, the expert said. Such advancements not only strengthen the country's global reputation, they also mean patients no longer have to travel abroad for complex care and management of chronic illnesses."In fact, patients are now starting to travel to the UAE to obtain more complex care. This is all due to the vision of our leaders to cast a wider net to enable accessibility and affordability of care," he added. Serving His CountryAfter years of international training, Dr. Al Zaki has returned to serve his country, and for him, the move has become a turning point in his career. "I am honoured to be part of this movement to advance healthcare in the UAE. Individual efforts are not enough; you need to build the team and the infrastructure around it. It is exciting to help shape a healthcare system that has evolved so rapidly," he said. His long-term vision is to see Abu Dhabi emerge as a global hub in oncology and healthcare innovation. "The UAE can become the number one destination for treatment; not just in the region, but globally. And that includes nurturing the next generation, giving them the education, tools, and experience to build an ecosystem rooted in science, clinical excellence, and innovation."
Khaleej Times
21-04-2025
- Health
- Khaleej Times
UAE doctor who went viral for brave stance during Covid returns after 20 years
An Emirati oncologist who went viral in 2020 for deciding to stay in the US to treat Covid patients and not leave has returned to his homeland after 20 years of living abroad. And he has two key missions: Reduce the cost of one of the most expensive cancer treatments and remove misconceptions around the scary 'C word. ' The first thing Dr Ajlan Al Zaki noticed in his patients here in the UAE was an instilled fear of cancer. 'It's okay to say the C word. A lot of patients come in and they hear the word cancer and that brings in fear. There are concerns, and understandably so. They just want to make sure that they're okay. That sort of awareness needs to be spread out where cancer is not necessarily a bad word,' he told Khaleej Times. Another thing he noticed in patients here was how everything was taken at face value. 'We tend to use Dr Google or AI,' Al Zaki said. 'I need to tell my patients don't believe everything you read online. Please don't do it. You can Google a little bit, but don't believe everything you read online.' Dr Al Zaki, a triple board-certified haematologist and oncologist previously based out of the US, went viral during the beginning of the Covid pandemic in 2020 after the UAE government called on its citizens abroad to return home, but he decided not to leave and to stay in order to perform his duty as a doctor and treat infected patients. Currently, he is director of Burjeel Haematology Oncology and Cellular Therapy Centre and a specialist in CAR-T cell and Advanced immunotherapies. 'The UAE has supported me during this whole time. I was going through my personal journey of developing experience and getting that experience where I felt like I would be comfortable enough to bring everything back,' Al Zaki said. More affordable CAR-T cell therapy Today, the haematologist-oncologist is continuing his path of helping cancer patients by reducing the costs of one of the most personalised and expensive cancer treatments–chimeric antigen receptor CAR-T cell therapy. This type of treatment involves genetically engineering a patient's T-cells and training them to recognise a specific marker on a cancer cell and then fighting those off once given back to the patient. Because this treatment is so personalised, the costs of treatment are significantly higher. One single infusion could cost a whopping $1 million. During the first day of the Abu Dhabi Global Health Week event, which ran from April15-17, Burjeel Holdings announced its partnership with Caring Cross, a US-based non-profit, to reduce the costs of CAR T cell therapy treatment by up to 90% compared to international costs. 'It could be up to 90%, where that bar is going to be in the UAE, we don't know. But I know for sure that we can provide it at a lower cost than what's commercially approved,' Al Zaki said. Al Zaki explained that the reason why costs may be reduced by that much is due to the technology offered by Caring Cross to locally manufacture the cells. 'When you're making the CAR-T cells, when you're programming the CAR-T cells, think of it as downloading software on your iPhone. So, you have your iPhone, which is your T cells, and you want to upgrade your iPhone, you have to download software,' he said. Al Zaki continued: 'It's the software sometimes which can be really expensive. And so, what Caring Cross does is they make the software, and they provide it at a significantly reduced cost. And we use that software to then upgrade the T cells.' 'I want people to have access to these kinds of therapies anywhere in the world. That's why we went into medicine,' he said. From engineering to medicine After starting his academic journey as a chemical engineer, Al Zaki came across a professor who suggested that he tries to do some research. At the time, Al Zaki had plans to work for one of the oil companies in the UAE. However, that eye-opening conversation prompted him to switch course and turn to research as a career path. 'The idea of cancer always intrigued me at that time. How do we diagnose it? How do we treat it? What are new ways that we are using to prevent it from occurring in the beginning?' he said. Six years and a PhD in research later, Al Zaki decided that medicine was his true calling and pursued medical school. In 2012, when his grandfather was diagnosed with late-stage cancer, Al Zaki grew inspired to help people when they are at their worst, whether it be medical or emotional support. He said that despite the condition his grandfather was in, he knew how important it was to just be present. 'I read once that sometimes the best therapy that you can give to a patient that's not administered by way of mouth or way of the vein, is really through the way of the ear. Sometimes [words of comfort are] the strongest therapy you can give to someone.'
