G42 Healthcare, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi's artificial intelligence and cloud computing company Group 42, has joined forces with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop a genomics, proteomics and biobanking service.
Genomics is the study of genes whereas proteomics is the study of proteins produced by the cell. Biobanking refers to the process of collecting body tissue for research to improve the understanding of health.
The partnership, which was announced at the Bio International Convention in San Diego, aims to make G42 Healthcare's sequencing, proteomics and data analytics capabilities available to “governments, population genome programmes and life science initiatives across the world”, the entities said on Tuesday.
Our goal with AWS is to take the capabilities that have taken years and significant resources to build — global and at speed
Ashish Koshy,
chief executive of G42 Healthcare
“Abu Dhabi is just a four-hour flight away from about 33 per cent of the world, and 80 per cent of the world is reachable with an eight-hour flight,” said G42 Healthcare chief executive Ashish Koshy.
“Our experience in facilitating the world’s most comprehensive population genomics initiative in Abu Dhabi showcases our deep understanding of how to deliver at scale — from sample management to advanced analytics.”
G42 Healthcare owns the region’s largest omics centre in Abu Dhabi that can deliver more than 500,000 whole-genome sequences per year. Omics refers to a field of study in biological sciences.
“Our goal with AWS is to take the capabilities that have taken years and significant resources to build — global and at speed. Our offering aims to leverage the extensive omics data management and bioinformatics solutions hosted globally on AWS at our customers' fingertips,” Mr Koshy said.
Investments in pharmaceutical and diagnostics fields have picked up in the recent months as companies increase their holdings within the healthcare sector.
G42 Healthcare established Biogenix Labs, the UAE’s first accredited, large-scale, throughput Covid-19 laboratory. It also arranged the 4Humanity clinical trials, the world’s first Phase 3 trial for a vaccine to fight against the coronavirus, with more than 43,000 volunteers taking part.
Its partnership with AWS will provide on-demand service for multi-omics data globally, Jens Dommel, head of public sector health care for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at AWS, said.
“Governments and researchers can benefit from democratised access to next-generation sequencing, proteomics and data analytics, supported by the most flexible and secure cloud computing environment available today,” Mr Dommel said.
Amazon’s subsidiary, AWS, provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to other businesses.
Last week, the Seattle-based company said its June quarter sales jumped more than 33 per cent annually to $19.7 billion, driven by an increased adoption of cloud services globally.
Last month, Amazon announced plans to acquire San Francisco-based healthcare provider One Medical for $3.9bn.
The US technology company indicated its interest in health care when it acquired PillPack, a full-service pharmacy, in 2018 for $750 million.
In 2020, it set up Amazon Pharmacy, allowing customers to order prescription medicine for home delivery.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2019 GMC Yukon Denali
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Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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