Saudi Arabia rolls out biotech partnerships to support its $34.6 billion non‑oil growth plan

Saudi Arabia’s National Biotechnology Strategy, launched in early 2024, aims to add $34.6 billion to non‑oil GDP by 2040 and create 11,000 jobs by 2030. The plan is now moving beyond policy into concrete collaborations.

At the Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit, the King Abdullah International Medical Research Center announced a new Center of Excellence for Genomics, Proteomics and Biobanking in partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific. The center will provide local capabilities for advanced research and sample storage.

Additional research agreements were disclosed with Olink for proteomics, Tiziana Life Sciences for immunomodulation and neuroimmunology, and Japan’s Chiyoda Corporation for plant‑based peptide production aimed at cancer therapies. These deals build on earlier collaborations, such as KAIMRC’s partnership with AstraZeneca.

The announced partnerships signal that Saudi Arabia is addressing practical questions for drug developers, including trial sites, local manufacturing, and access to capital and skilled staff, thereby strengthening its emerging biotech ecosystem.