Pure Health in Abu Dhabi relies on science to help people live to 101

A medical group in the United Arab Emirates is looking to cutting-edge science to help people live longer than they do now – with the goal of reaching the age of 101 for all.

Pure Health wants to make the capital a hub for longevity research, its chief executive Farhan Malik said at an event at the Louvre in Abu Dhabi on Monday night.

“When we talk about longevity, we don’t just mean prolonging life, we mean making people healthier for longer,” he said.

The company’s new focus is the science of “unlocking time,” which has become a multibillion-dollar industry over the past decade.

The goal, he said, was to “extend the average life expectancy from 76 to 101”.

The theory behind longevity biotechnology is that drugs, lifestyle changes, early intervention and guidance will allow a person to live much longer than they currently do.

Addressing an audience of senior government officials and healthcare professionals, Mr Malik and Pure Health’s Chief Operating Officer Shaista Asif explained how today’s young Emiratis are living longer.

How an Emiratis lived to be 101

“Ahmed” uses a “digital twin” to track how his mind and body are optimized through regular check-ups from childhood to adulthood.

He suffers from eye strain and sometimes sleeps poorly, but is of a normal weight, weighing 56kg at 14, and is generally in a positive mood.

He later developed cancer, lost his hair and was involved in a serious traffic accident that damaged his heart – but he survived.

After the car accident, bioprinting was used to create a new heart for him.

At different stages, doctors use the dashboard to see how to help him recover and live longer. “Digital twins” are used to try drugs and test different scenarios for the best results, rather than trial and error.

At one point, the dashboard’s “smart life coach” detected that Ahmed was feeling down and put him in touch with a therapist.

Despite his ill health, Ahmed lived to be 101 years old.

“This is our Venus – making this country a land of opportunity and people from all over the world migrating to this beautiful environment to live longer, healthier and happier lives,” Ms Asif said.

“Gives you the possibilities to dream, the memories you want to create, the opportunities you want to explore.”

where to start

Such an outcome would not have been possible if individual hospitals and doctors “worked in isolation” as many health systems do, she said.

Mr Malik said a recent agreement with the Abu Dhabi Ministry of Health to create a centralized health platform with all data on one platform is an example of the beginning of such a system.

“All the data lakes from Abu Dhabi will be brought together on one platform so that all of our businesses are working towards… a location to deliver more accurate and personalised healthcare,” he said.

“Health care is everyone’s human right. It shouldn’t be for those who have monetary value on hand. Just as education should be democratized, housing or shelter should be democratized…Everyone must have access to health care.”

Pure Health became the largest medical group in the UAE when Abu Dhabi Health Services (commonly known as Seha) and National Health Insurance Company (commonly known as Daman), which operate the capital’s public hospitals, merged with it.

The holding company and wealth fund ADQ are the largest shareholders. ADQ It also merged its healthcare entities Rafed and Union71 with Pure Health last year.

Pure Health now has 28 hospitals, 100 clinics and more than 160 laboratories in the UAE.

Billions of dollars have been poured into anti-aging research over the past decade, with Google’s Calico, the U.S. entity National Institute on Aging and Saudi Arabia’s Evolution all leading the pack.

While magic drugs like metformin, aspirin, and rapamycin are all touted as life-extending, the industry is still in its infancy.

Updated: October 11, 2022 9:15am