Saudi Arabia’s ongoing healthcare transformation has opened up the platform for investments, welcoming exciting opportunities for international players.
Identifying key areas of development and growth in this regard, the Riyadh-based Ajlan & Bros Medical Company — part of Ajlan & Bros Group, a multinational conglomerate established in 1979 — structured its operations strategy to address immediate gaps and establish long-term solutions for the KSA market.
“The new models of care will have to bridge the gap between our current capacity and demand by focusing on prevention, care outside of hospitals, focus on the family as a unit, and wellness. We have to be ready to face the increasing burden of chronic diseases and mental health problems, while at the same time observing the rapid growth in population size,” said Mohamed Al-Ajlan, Deputy Chairman at Ajlan & Bros.
“That is why Ajlan is focusing on innovative care models by supporting service providers to facilitate access to healthcare, like home healthcare, virtual care, self-care tools, and population health management.”
Ajlan & Bros has laid down the foundation in specific categories, ranging from manufacturing and localisation to complement the Saudi vision of self-sustainability, to healthcare technology and services. Commenting on the latter, he said: “We are aware of the gaps in both infrastructure and services and have plans to set up strategic hospitals that will serve as high-quality centres of excellence. They will not only provide specialised healthcare services, but also offer social care and mental health services that are made easily accessible through tech-driven solutions.”
Healthcare technology is a big focus area for Ajlan & Bros Medical Company, and they are currently working with multiple partners to provide an integrated and customised healthcare technology platform including virtual care and approved solutions to activate role of citizens to be responsible for their own, family and society healthcare.
In the area of genomics and biotechnology, they will be establishing an advanced genetic lab by next year and provide all the required genetic testing from their lab solutions.
“We are laying the foundation to search for future opportunities aligned with applicable laws and regulations to protect healthcare information,” Mohamed Al-Ajlan added.
Ajlan & Bros Medical Company is also exploring solutions in Pharma including acquisitions for local manufacturing of essential drugs, manufacturing of vaccines, and pharmacy automation, alongside workforce development. According to him, the development of workforce is a big challenge for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the country is still heavily reliant on foreign workforce. Acknowledging this, Ajlan aims to implement strategies to develop a workforce of the future with local talents such as nurses, health coaches, care coordinators and health informatics personnel.
“We understand the challenges for healthcare sector and the new models of care very well. We aim to revolutionise the delivery of care and shift to prevention. We believe that the private sector will have a huge part to play in the next 10 years to deliver the transformation projects and sustain them for a long time.
“As the Kingdom moves to the delivery of care through ‘clusters’ and we implement new payer mechanisms to fund healthcare, the system must become highly proactive, value-based, and outcomes-oriented. At Ajlan & Bros Medical Company, all our services and offerings are aligned to meet the above objectives in a timely and cost-effective manner,” he said.
The year 2023 looks promising for Ajlan & Bros Medical Company, as it looks forward to localise the manufacturing of medical products in Saudi Arabia, improve the lives of two million people through coordinated solutions in public health management; and establish a genetic lab to launch genetic testing in KSA. Plans are also underway to deliver solutions in partnership with service providers and regulators, cater to at least 500,000 home healthcare visits, and launch its own mental health platform and services.
Looking back, Ajlan & Bros was formed in 1979. From humble origins, the organisation steadily grew to become one of the region’s leading holding companies, with investments in portfolio of diversified projects across Saudi Arabia’s key economic growth sectors. To date, they are present in 25 countries with over 75 companies.
“In line with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ajlan & Bros Group has embarked on a significant diversification both regionally and globally,” Mohamed Al-Ajlan added.
