- Secondcell Bio CEO President Dr. Kambiz
Shekdar, PhD becomes first BioTech recipient of a United
Arab Emirates Golden visa under the Inventor category.
- Secondcell Bio joins the American Chamber of Commerce Abu Dhabi
(AmCham Abu Dhabi) as the first U.S. BioTech corporate member.
- Secondcell Bio forms AmCham Abu Dhabi BioTech Committee as the
first of its kind in the UAE and the Arab Gulf States of
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman
and Bahrain.
NEW
YORK and ABU DHABI,
UAE, May 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
accelerates its emerging BioTech & Made-in-Abu-Dhabi IP
creation sector, Rockefeller University
BioTech Inventor Dr. Kambiz Shekdar,
PhD, Founder and CEO of Secondcell Bio and President of Research
Foundation for Cure Initiatives, is empowering BioTech innovation
in the UAE through a series of innovative firsts.
Shekdar is exporting the proprietary cell engineering technology
he invented at a Nobel-Prize Winning Laboratory at The Rockefeller University, Chromovert® Technology,
to the UAE to establish an Emirati biotechnology joint venture
aimed at developing and commercializing jointly-owned
"Made-In-Abu-Dhabi IP."
Via a nomination from Competitiveness Office of Abu Dhabi (COAD), the UAE issued the
prestigious UAE Golden Visa under the Inventor category to Shekdar
on May 21st 2024, underscoring
Abu Dhabi's commitment to
fostering innovation and elevating competitiveness in the emirate
and marking him as the first biotech inventor to attain this
esteemed type of visa.
"I gratefully take this opportunity as my solemn commitment to
help build up the BioTech sector in Abu
Dhabi with the same home-grown can-do-and-have-done record
of accomplishment demonstrated by Emirati leadership, its people,
and nation, and to do so collegially with the best of the best of
the world's human capital across frontier technologies who, like
myself, are drawn to the UAE with the thirst to the pioneer and
build better like only possible in the red-hot entrepreneurial
climate of the UAE," says Shekdar.
The UAE Golden visa is a long-term residence visa that enables
foreign talents to live, work or study in the UAE while enjoying
exclusive benefits, such as the privilege of not needing a sponsor.
Investors, entrepreneurs, scientists and humanitarian pioneers are
among those eligible for the Golden visa.
Secondcell Bio joined AmCham Abu Dhabi as the first BioTech
corporate member for its support to help accelerate the emerging
BioTech sector of the UAE. Shekdar chose to partner with AmCham Abu
Dhabi following thorough consultations with various government and
business groups, citing AmCham Abu Dhabi's proactive leadership
under CEO Liz Beneski, their
exceptional team and expert-led events that facilitate valuable
connections between U.S. and UAE-based businesses and
individuals.
Secondcell Bio's decision to join AmCham Abu Dhabi inspired
Beneski to advocate for the creation of a new BioTech committee
within AmCham, focused exclusively on biotechnology and the
businesses needed to help this sector thrive. The AmCham Abu Dhabi
BioTech Committee was formally announced on Sunday, May 12, 2024 at the Abu Dhabi Global
Health Week (ADGHW) AmCham Kick-Off Dinner.
"AmCham Abu Dhabi's Mission is to promote commerce, investment
and goodwill between its membership, the
United States of America and the United Arab Emirates," added Beneski, "Dr.
Shekdar is a remarkable American innovator, and we are thrilled
that Kambiz brings his achievements in BioTech to Abu Dhabi and the UAE. We excitedly look
forward to the future with him as he launches the new BioTech
Committee."
The first of its kind in the Arab Gulf States, the AmCham
BioTech Committee is dedicated to promoting opportunities for U.S.
biotechnology companies as Abu
Dhabi defines and advances its biotechnology sector. Shekdar
serves as Founding Chairman.
Mohammad Mahfouz, Juma El-Ajou and Shekdar co-Founded Secondcell
Investment Holding LLC in Abu
Dhabi to facilitate strategic partnerships for drug
discovery at scale in Abu
Dhabi.
"Mohammad and I see countless proposals. This one is different,
and the one we joined personally. Our joint venture is not a
one-hit-wonder, but rather an opportunity to establish in
Abu Dhabi a demonstrated discovery
engine technology that has been successfully commercially validated
to enable accelerated drug discovery for hundreds, if not
thousands, of promising new medical treatments, therapies and
cures," says El-Ajou.
About Dr. Kambiz Shekdar,
PhD
From invention at The Rockefeller
University to IPO at New York Stock Exchange to scale-up
drug discovery for jointly owned Made-in-Abu-Dhabi IP in the UAE,
Dr. Kambiz Shekdar, PhD is the first
U.S. Biotech Abu Dhabi Golden Visa Inventor transitioning to the
UAE.
Dr. Shekdar invented Chromovert® Technology while he was a
graduate doctoral student in the laboratory of his mentor, the late
Nobel laureate & King Faisal Prize winner Dr. Gunter Blobel, MD, PhD. at The Rockefeller University in New York City. For more than 20 years, Dr.
Shekdar has been pursuing applications of the same platform
technology, now including pursuing the creation of a joint venture
with Emirati stakeholders to implement the by-now validated
research engine as part of a national-level public-private
partnership for drug discovery at scale in the UAE. Secondcell Bio
is a member of the Abu Dhabi, UAE
chapter of American Chambers of Commerce. Dr. Shekdar is Founding
Chairman of the AmCham Abu Dhabi BioTech Committee and President of
Research Foundation for Cure Initiatives.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kambiz-shekdar-51a52a34/
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. Via its sister organization
Research Foundation for Cure Initiatives, the company shares a
commitment to make its medical innovations available to all those
in need regardless of ability to pay.
https://www.secondcellbio.com
About Chromovert® Technology
Biological science deals
with the human cell. Cells that exactly mimic human disease are
fundamental for discovery of new drugs. However, in a sea of cells
engineered to model disease, only a tiny number are suitable.
Detecting and isolating the optimal cells is extraordinarily
difficult. Chromovert® facilitates the detection and purification
of even exceedingly rare, desired cells. Applicable to any gene and
any cell, the platform technology opens new applications in flavors
and drug discovery, biologics manufacturing, cell and stem cell
therapies, and crop engineering. The scientific publication of the
technology is available at this link:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10529-021-03101-5
Contact:
Kambiz Shekdar
kambiz.shekdar@secondcellbio.com
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SOURCE Secondcell Bio, LLC