On May 23, 2025, Professor Ahmed Alaskar, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (FRCPC), Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP), and Executive Director of the King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), was invited by the Gene Editing Center of the School of Life Science and Technology at ShanghaiTech University to deliver an academic lecture titled "Biotechnology in Focus: Saudi Arabia’s Vision for Advancement" at the School.
To advance the economic diversification goals of "Vision 2030," the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has officially designated biotechnology as a strategic pillar industry and released a specialized development plan. This aims to reduce reliance on the traditional oil economy and establish the Kingdom as a global hub for biotechnological innovation. Professor Ahmed Alaskar introduced that Saudi Arabia has launched a strategic R&D plan for biotechnology, focusing on four key areas: genomics, crop breeding, biosynthesis, and vaccine development. This strategic plan aims to position the country as a regionally and globally influential biotechnology center within the next 10-20 years. To this end, Saudi Arabia has introduced a series of policies encouraging investment and nurturing advanced biotechnology, building a "from R&D to commercialization" full-chain industrial ecosystem. Professor Alaskar highlighted the growing market share of gene therapy in Saudi Arabia and encouraged global biotech companies to conduct clinical trials (CT) within the Kingdom.
Professor Alaskar then introduced the King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), which covers multiple cutting-edge fields including oncology, infectious diseases, immunology, regenerative medicine, and genomics. The center collaborates closely with numerous domestic and international academic and clinical institutions, supporting national goals in medical innovation, vaccine development, gene and cell therapy, and clinical trials. It serves as a key platform for Saudi Arabia in promoting medical technology self-reliance under Vision 2030.
Notably, the Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit (RGMBS) announced the establishment of strategic public-private partnerships covering "early discovery - product development - commercialization." This initiative links government, multinational corporations, and research institutions to accelerate technology transfer. The Saudi National Institutes of Health (Saudi NIH) stated that over the next five years, it will create more than 5,000 new R&D positions in biotechnology, specifically targeting global graduates and research talent in biology and medicine. It will provide them with platforms for international project collaboration and industrial practice. Professor Alaskar emphasized: "Biotechnology is the core engine of Saudi Arabia's economic transformation. We focus not only on technological breakthroughs but are also committed to creating an open collaborative ecosystem for global talent, making Saudi Arabia a new hub for life sciences innovation."
Following the lecture, Dr. Chouwen Zhu, Director of the Shanghai Clinical Center, Prof. Jia Chen, Director of Gene Editing Center, SLST, ShanghaiTech University, Dr. Xiaodun Mou, CEO of CorrectSequence Therapeutics, and other attending faculty and students engaged in extensive and in-depth discussions with Professor Ahmed Alaskar.