U.S. Delegation to Accelerate Abu Dhabi BioTech Sector Led by Secondcell Bio

• Led by Secondcell Bio, the delegation of up to 150 U.S. BioTech owners and executives includes world-leading scientists, medical doctors, entrepreneurs, intellectual property experts, and senior business, finance, and legal teams.
• The purpose of Secondcell Bio's visit is to close a joint venture biotechnology partnership to discover and commercialize jointly owned new BioTech and medical innovations.
• The delegation will take place on the occasion of the UAE BioTech Symposium in partnership with AmCham Abu Dhabi BioTech Committee and Masdar City.

ABU DHABI, UAE, Sept. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. BioTech firm Secondcell Bio is organizing its first delegation to Abu Dhabi for 20+ senior team members and advisors.

As part of the UAE's national effort to catalyze its knowledge-based economy, the delegation will take business meetings to accelerate 2.5-year ongoing discussions towards the formation of a national level joint venture BioTech company to create and commercialize novel and jointly owned Made-in-Abu-Dhabi-BioTech-IP.

Emirati leadership has captured the imagination of Dr. Kambiz Shekdar, PhD, CEO of Secondcell Bio and his team regarding the new and rapidly growing BioTech and Life Sciences sector in the UAE, including the following directives by healthcare leaders in the UAE about how the country is revamping this sector, including thoughts on leadership, structure, mandate, and mission:

• UAE Genetic Disease Association Founder and Chairperson Her Excellency Dr. Maryam Matar, MD, PhD, eloquently and boldly speaks about bipolar among C-suites executives and intimate women's health issues at the workplace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Fi08xnCGg
• Department of Health - Abu Dhabi Executive Director of the Research and Innovation Centre Dr. Asma Al Mannaei, MBBS, MPH, speaks about the importance of achieving public private partnerships as part of the fabric of innovation in the UAE:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEdHhDK73Lw
• Emirates Drug Establishment Director General Dr. Fatima Al Kaabi, MPH, MSc, forcefully speaks about how the current for-profit only industry must be improved upon, and how she is forcefully leading that effort here in Abu Dhabi: (Dr. Fatima's remarks begin at :59) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEdHhDK73Lw
• Dubai Science Park Senior Vice President Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi speaks about the need for the UAE to re-double its efforts to actively recruit the best of the best talent, lest the country lose out to global competition: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YJOneZ9bkjY

Two members of the Secondcell Bio delegation will be speaking at the UAE BioTech Symposium in partnership with AmCham Abu Dhabi's BioTech Committee and Masdar City November 6-9, 2024:

• Dr. Patricia L. Morris, MS, PhD, Secondcell Bio Chief Scientific and Health Policy Advisor; Former Executive Director The Rockefeller University Population Council R&D; Sr. Scientist Reproductive Health Global Program; Associate Editor and past President and Board of Directors member Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB); The Rockefeller University Guest Investigator, Laboratory of RNA Molecular Biology
  
  
• Dr. Donald Landry, MD, PhD, Secondcell Bio Chief Medical Advisor, Columbia University Center for Human Longevity Director, Columbia University Organic Chemistry Collaborative Center Director and Columbia University Medical Center Hamilton Southworth Professor and Chairman Emeritus of Medicine

Dr. Landry is a renowned expert in the ethical advancement of embryonic stem cell research and was a member of the President's Council on Bioethics during the George W. Bush administration. In 2008, President Bush honored Dr. Landry with the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest award given to civilians. The Medal citation issued by the White House credits Dr. Landry's "diverse and pioneering research and his efforts to improve the well-being of his fellow man."

"For more than 20 years, I have worked hand in hand with Don, in every important initiative we have done together, with Don as medicinal chemist and myself as biologist," says Dr. Shekdar.

"Most BioTech companies focus their efforts on one or two disease targets at a time producing few, if any, viable drug candidates for commercialization," says Fabienne Duchini, Abu Dhabi Partnerships Officer at Secondcell Bio. Chromovert® Technology is the only cellular engineering technology that is validated for reliable and cost-effective multiplexed drug discovery. "Via our illustrious team and advisors, Secondcell Bio, our UAE partners and our newly launched quarterly UAE BioTech Symposium we can draw on the best and the brightest scientists and BioTech leaders across all disciplines."

Secondcell Bio Chief Innovation & AI Advisor Dr. Arthur Morrish, PhD is a fourth member of the U.S. team at Secondcell Bio. Most recently, Dr. Morrish served as the Founding CEO of ASPIRE. ASPIRE is the business development arm of Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), the research arm of the UAE chaired by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and led by ATRC Secretary General H.E. Faisal Al Bannai. Previously, Dr. Morrish led U.S. government innovation initiatives at DARPA. "Art's Axioms" for mentoring, nurturing, and successfully achieving innovation, including how to manage change and handle the fallout of disruptive technologies, are freely shared below.

Philanthropist John Rockefeller, JD, MPH, DrPH, Partnership Chair at Secondcell Bio's affiliated Research Foundation for Cure Initiatives (RFCI), will also speak at the UAE BioTech Symposium. In line with UAE's leadership and vision, Secondcell Bio's initiatives, including in the UAE, include a charitable commitment to make new medical discoveries available for all those in need worldwide, regardless of ability to pay. Mr. Rockefeller has raised $6B for medical philanthropy including via Clinton Health Access Initiative and including involvement in the largest gift to date for Johns Hopkins Hospital on behalf of the Founder of the UAE.

"Imagine a technology capable of accelerating treatments and cures for hundreds, if not thousands, of rare diseases," says Mr. Rockefeller, "And imagine a group of scientists, innovators, and accelerators, who are committed to ensuring cures are accessible to those in need around the entire planet. This is medicine for people, not for profit."

In addition to Secondcell Bio's U.S. colleagues, a number of UAE local scientists and regional business experts will also join Secondcell Bio's delegation in the UAE.

"As Secondcell Bio scales-up operations in the UAE, my experience facilitating productive international business engagements and guiding businesses on regional regulatory frameworks and legal requirements in the Middle East can further promote acceleration of the BioTech sector throughout the GCC," says Yousif Almahdi, Arabian Gulf Commercial Advisor to Secondcell Bio.

Says Dr. Shekdar: "Sometimes it can be very difficult to do it alone, as exciting as it is to be the first U.S. BioTech inventor who has transitioned to the UAE. Things work differently here and progress is extremely methodical and steady. While this gives me confidence, I'm also excited to welcome my top team to witness for themselves what I have seen in the UAE and for their hands-on participation in our most tangible and promising discussions: Ladies and gentlemen, we've got work to do! – It's time to build a new sector!" 

To learn more, the following link curated by AmCham Abu Dhabi BioTech Committee & UAE BioTech Symposium Chairman Dr. Shekdar provides a portal to all relevant links and updates, contact information, event registration and program details for the UAE BioTech Symposium:

https://linktr.ee/kambizshekdar

The UAE BioTech Symposium will offer an optional weekend agenda featuring a variety of cultural, leisure and lifestyle experiences in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The weekend activities have been selected by luxury travel agency 2xceed Destination Management to enable participants to explore all that these two Emirati destinations have to offer outside the official program.

To schedule a meeting, contact Secondcell Bio Abu Dhabi Partnerships Officer Fabienne Duchini at [email protected].

Secondcell Bio Delegation to Abu Dhabi:

• Dr. Kambiz Shekdar, PhD, Secondcell Bio Chief Executive Officer
• Dr. Donald Landry, MD, PhD, Secondcell Bio Chief Medical Advisor & Columbia University Center for Human Longevity Director, Columbia University Medical Center Hamilton Southworth Professor and Chairman Emeritus of Medicine
• Dr. Patricia Morris, MS, PhD, Secondcell Bio Chief Scientific Advisor and Health Policy Advisor & Former Executive Director The Rockefeller University Population Council R&D; Sr. Scientist Reproductive Health Global Program; Associate Editor and past President and Board of Directors Member Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB); and The Rockefeller University Guest Investigator, Laboratory of RNA Molecular Biology
• Dr. Arthur A. Morrish, PhD, Secondcell Bio Chief Innovation Officer & former Founding CEO of ASPIRE, Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC)
• Fabienne Duchini, Secondcell Bio Abu Dhabi Partnerships Officer
• Dr. Hemad Yasaei, PhD, Secondcell Bio Chief Scientific Advisor in the UAE & Head, Molecular Genomics Department, National Reference Laboratory, M42
• Athiq Ahmed Wahab, Secondcell Bio Chief UAE Laboratory Operations Advisor & Manager, Special Projects, Al Jalila Foundation and Mohammed Bin Rashid Medical Research Institute (MBRU)
• Yousif Almahdi, MBA, Secondcell Bio Chief Arabian Gulf Commercial Advisor & former Commercial Specialist, Embassy of the United States of America, Kuwait
• John Rockefeller, Secondcell Bio Chief Charitable Programs Advisor & Research Foundation for Cure Initiatives Partnership Chair
• Karen Hagberg, Esq., Secondcell Bio Chief Philanthropic Advisor & Research Foundation for Cure Initiatives Chair
• Thomas W. Bark, Esq, Secondcell Bio General Counsel, former Partner, Jones Day, Mergers & Acquisitions Group
• Edward Ceraso, MBA, Secondcell Bio Chief Financial Officer & former Global Chief Financial Officer for Kantar Health
• Kyle Mooney, Esq, Secondcell Bio Chief Legal Advisor & Partner, Morrison Foerster
• Dr. Rainer Plaggenborg, PhD, Secondcell Bio Intellectual Property Advisor &Partner, Patent Attorney, Life Sciences and Pharma, Grünecker
• Yasser Omar, Secondcell Bio Chief Legal Advisor & Executive Partner, Head of Corporate & Commercial Abu Dhabi, Hadef & Partners
• Dina Mahdi, Secondcell Bio Government Legal Advisor & Partner, Head of Regulatory & Government Advisory Abu Dhabi, Hadef & Partners
• Additional members TBC

We invite members of the press to learn more about the UAE BioTech Symposium. Private one-on-one briefings are available for scheduling as follows:

1. Members of UAE and GCC press: 10am to 8pm, Monday October 7, 2024, GCC Time Zone
2. Business & technology press: 7am to 5pm, Tuesday October 8, 2024, EST Time Zone
3. All members of the press: 10am to 10pm, Wednesday October 9, 2024, GCC Time Zone

To schedule a private one-on-one press briefing, please contact Fabienne Duchini at [email protected].

About Secondcell Bio
Secondcell Bio™ is building public-private partnerships worldwide to scale-up the demonstrated and largely automated platform biotechnology originating from The Rockefeller University. The company was formed by Dr. Kambiz Shekdar, PhD, inventor of Chromovert® Technology. Secondcell Bio owns Chromovert® Technology. https://www.secondcellbio.ae/ 

About AmCham BioTech Committee
The AmCham BioTech Committee was formed to establish a BioTech sector in Abu Dhabi with a focus on promoting opportunities for U.S. BioTech companies with a vision to be a thought leader and facilitator for U.S. corporate interests in the emerging BioTech sector in Abu Dhabi and throughout the Middle East. Since its founding, the BioTech committee has seen a notable uptick in interest from U.S.-based companies seeking to broaden their service offerings within the region. AmCham BioTech Committee founding members include Seconcell Bio, Intelligenix Advanced Diagnostics, Extend Biosciences, Halia Therapeutics and Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (JLL). https://amchamabudhabi.org/biotech/

About UAE BioTech Symposium
UAE BioTech Symposium in partnership with the AmCham Abu Dhabi BioTech Committee and Masdar City will host quarterly panel discussions and lab tours in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and roadshow destinations throughout the GCC and Middle East. The events are free with attendance limited to prioritize U.S. and international BioTech owners and executives. Program details will be posted online in Arabic and in English as registration for each event goes live via the AmCham Abu Dhabi website.

Arabic site for scientific program: http://www.uaebiotechsymposium.ae
English site for scientific program: https://www.uaebiotechsymposium.com 

About 2xceed
2xceed delivers bespoke luxury travel, event planning, and corporate services with a focus on exceptional local expertise in UAE and all Middle East, innovative itineraries, and VIP experiences. Their offerings include tailored holidays, special event access, meetings & incentives, congress management, and comprehensive event logistics, all while adhering to principles of sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

About "Art's Axioms" by Secondcell Bio Chief Innovation Advisor Dr. Arthur A. Morrish, PhD

Don't lie, especially to yourself, and don't tolerate it in others.
Corollary
It's hard to make good decisions from bad data.

Never shoot the messenger.
Corollary
If people are afraid of you, they won't tell you the truth. You have to hold people accountable, that's the flip side of empowerment. But that's different than jumping all over someone that simply delivered bad news.

Treat everyone like you'd like to be treated.

Corollary
Try to spend as much time praising people's achievements as you do discussing their shortcomings.

Don't be afraid to make a decision.

Corollary 1
Most decisions you make will be made on incomplete data.
Corollary 2
Don't be afraid to admit that you made a mistake, or that the situation has changed and you are going to change your mind, (See axiom 1)
Corollary 3
You can recover from almost anything except lost time.

When you need to act, act decisively. Half measures almost never work.

Never give a gratuitous insult. If you are going to irritate someone do it with malice of forethought.

Never confuse process with the product. Just checking the box doesn't mean you're providing value. Require that everyone, including yourself, THINK about what they are doing.

Being angry isn't the same thing as taking action. Shouting at someone who screwed up does nothing to fix the problem.

Never attribute to malice what you can attribute to ignorance or stupidity.
Corollary
Ignorance can be cured, you generally can't fix stupid. Be sure you can determine which is which.

You can accomplish almost anything if you don't care who gets the credit.
Corollary
Always praise your team if someone praises you.
"Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable." –William Pollard, physicist.

SOURCE Secondcell Bio, LLC; UAE BioTech Symposium