Dubai, UAE - UAE-based diversified conglomerate, Crescent Enterprises, today hosted a MedTech Symposium, under the theme ‘Enabling Innovation. Enhancing Impact’ to explore emerging opportunities in healthcare innovation and medical devices.
The event held at the Capital Club in DIFC, Dubai, drew the participation of more than 100 attendees, including prominent industry professionals, academics, investors and policymakers
Welcoming the attendees, Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises, said: “The recent widespread adoption of disruptive technology in healthcare is enabling breakthroughs in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, benefitting millions of people worldwide. The Middle East is set to be a major beneficiary of these technological advancements, as we continue to witness fast-paced population growth, and the consequent urgency to develop world-class healthcare systems. These innovations are also critical to putting our region on the map as brand-creators rather than brand-adopters.
He added: “At Crescent Enterprises, we are excited to engage with some of the best minds in the region’s healthcare industry at today’s MedTech symposium. Our goal, through these discussions, is to strengthen the focus on technology innovation in the region, and channel our best efforts towards achieving far-reaching, long-term impact that will transform the local and global communities.”
Delivering the opening keynote address on the role of governments in fostering science and innovation, Her Excellency Dr Maryam Matar, founder & Chairperson of The UAE Genetic Diseases Association, said: “We live in interesting times today, where on the one hand the global population is faced with challenges like never before, and on the other, the capacity for human ingenuity is reaching unprecedented heights.
“In this context, governments around the world have an important responsibility to empower themselves, the private sector and civil society to collaborate in finding workable solutions. Notably, the UAE government has spearheaded the transformation of the country’s healthcare system with a clearly defined vision and strategy that focuses on leveraging technology and innovation through AI and advanced sciences to achieve cutting-edge medical breakthroughs.”
The second keynote for the day was delivered by Dr Daniel Kim, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Texas and founder of ColubrisMX Inc. and XCath Inc., two next-generation micro-robotic medical device start-up companies. Soon to launch testing and clinical studies outside the United States, ColubrisMX is developing a state-of-the-art, minimally invasive, microsurgical robotic device that can treat life-threatening conditions such as fetal malformations and brain abnormalities through microsurgery. XCath, on the other hand, is developing next-generation steerable robotic microcatheters for treating endovascular conditions such as cerebral strokes. With microsurgical robotic devices, patients can be treated remotely, especially those who live in parts of the world where special surgical procedures are not otherwise readily accessible.
Dr Kim highlighted the currently unmet clinical needs in endovascular intervention and the role of cutting-edge technologies in non-invasive robotic surgery.
Dr Kim said: “As a micro-neurosurgeon, I am constantly at odds with the limitations of surgical precision set by the tools we have at our disposal today. Through ColubrisMX and XCath, we challenged this norm, to create what could potentially be one of the most significant advancements in global healthcare.
“We are at an advanced stage of using medical robotics to offer complex surgical procedures remotely, ensure earlier detection of health defects, and provide super-specialised care that can save more lives than ever before. The potential for developing this telerobotic technology for multiple uses is huge, and one that we need to pursue aggressively in order to solve some of the biggest healthcare challenges of our time.”
The event featured a series of panel discussions. The first of these examined the drivers of healthcare innovation and adoption in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In addition to Her Excellency Dr Maryam Matar, the panel featured participants including Dr Arjen Radder, CEO of Phillips Middle East & Turkey, Majdi Younis, Country Regional Business Director (Lower Gulf, Iran & Iraq) at Medtronic, and Dhiraj Joshi, Partner at PwC.
This was followed by a panel discussion highlighting the opportunities for Middle East investors in MedTech innovation and featured Dr Helmut M Schuehsler, Chairman & CEO, TVM Capital Healthcare Partners, Pramod Balakrishnan, CEO, Emirates Hospitals Group, Hisham Farouk, CEO, Grant Thornton, and Karim Smaira, Founder & CEO, Genpharm Services.
The symposium also shed the light on the important role of entrepreneurs in building tomorrow’s healthcare solutions, with speakers including Elizabeth O’Day, founder & CEO, Olaris Therapeutics, Ayman Sharaiha, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Altibbi, and Sam Amory, founder & CEO, Alpha Systems Group.
Crescent Enterprises’ has a history of developing assets in the healthcare sector, through strategic investments and its operating businesses. In November 2017, Crescent Enterprises’ venture capital arm, CE-VC, announced the successful closing of its investment in ColubrisMX and XCath, marking its entry into the medical technology sector.
-Ends- © Press Release 2017
The event held at the Capital Club in DIFC, Dubai, drew the participation of more than 100 attendees, including prominent industry professionals, academics, investors and policymakers
Welcoming the attendees, Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises, said: “The recent widespread adoption of disruptive technology in healthcare is enabling breakthroughs in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, benefitting millions of people worldwide. The Middle East is set to be a major beneficiary of these technological advancements, as we continue to witness fast-paced population growth, and the consequent urgency to develop world-class healthcare systems. These innovations are also critical to putting our region on the map as brand-creators rather than brand-adopters.
He added: “At Crescent Enterprises, we are excited to engage with some of the best minds in the region’s healthcare industry at today’s MedTech symposium. Our goal, through these discussions, is to strengthen the focus on technology innovation in the region, and channel our best efforts towards achieving far-reaching, long-term impact that will transform the local and global communities.”
Delivering the opening keynote address on the role of governments in fostering science and innovation, Her Excellency Dr Maryam Matar, founder & Chairperson of The UAE Genetic Diseases Association, said: “We live in interesting times today, where on the one hand the global population is faced with challenges like never before, and on the other, the capacity for human ingenuity is reaching unprecedented heights.
“In this context, governments around the world have an important responsibility to empower themselves, the private sector and civil society to collaborate in finding workable solutions. Notably, the UAE government has spearheaded the transformation of the country’s healthcare system with a clearly defined vision and strategy that focuses on leveraging technology and innovation through AI and advanced sciences to achieve cutting-edge medical breakthroughs.”
The second keynote for the day was delivered by Dr Daniel Kim, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Texas and founder of ColubrisMX Inc. and XCath Inc., two next-generation micro-robotic medical device start-up companies. Soon to launch testing and clinical studies outside the United States, ColubrisMX is developing a state-of-the-art, minimally invasive, microsurgical robotic device that can treat life-threatening conditions such as fetal malformations and brain abnormalities through microsurgery. XCath, on the other hand, is developing next-generation steerable robotic microcatheters for treating endovascular conditions such as cerebral strokes. With microsurgical robotic devices, patients can be treated remotely, especially those who live in parts of the world where special surgical procedures are not otherwise readily accessible.
Dr Kim highlighted the currently unmet clinical needs in endovascular intervention and the role of cutting-edge technologies in non-invasive robotic surgery.
Dr Kim said: “As a micro-neurosurgeon, I am constantly at odds with the limitations of surgical precision set by the tools we have at our disposal today. Through ColubrisMX and XCath, we challenged this norm, to create what could potentially be one of the most significant advancements in global healthcare.
“We are at an advanced stage of using medical robotics to offer complex surgical procedures remotely, ensure earlier detection of health defects, and provide super-specialised care that can save more lives than ever before. The potential for developing this telerobotic technology for multiple uses is huge, and one that we need to pursue aggressively in order to solve some of the biggest healthcare challenges of our time.”
The event featured a series of panel discussions. The first of these examined the drivers of healthcare innovation and adoption in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In addition to Her Excellency Dr Maryam Matar, the panel featured participants including Dr Arjen Radder, CEO of Phillips Middle East & Turkey, Majdi Younis, Country Regional Business Director (Lower Gulf, Iran & Iraq) at Medtronic, and Dhiraj Joshi, Partner at PwC.
This was followed by a panel discussion highlighting the opportunities for Middle East investors in MedTech innovation and featured Dr Helmut M Schuehsler, Chairman & CEO, TVM Capital Healthcare Partners, Pramod Balakrishnan, CEO, Emirates Hospitals Group, Hisham Farouk, CEO, Grant Thornton, and Karim Smaira, Founder & CEO, Genpharm Services.
The symposium also shed the light on the important role of entrepreneurs in building tomorrow’s healthcare solutions, with speakers including Elizabeth O’Day, founder & CEO, Olaris Therapeutics, Ayman Sharaiha, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Altibbi, and Sam Amory, founder & CEO, Alpha Systems Group.
Crescent Enterprises’ has a history of developing assets in the healthcare sector, through strategic investments and its operating businesses. In November 2017, Crescent Enterprises’ venture capital arm, CE-VC, announced the successful closing of its investment in ColubrisMX and XCath, marking its entry into the medical technology sector.
-Ends- © Press Release 2017
