Dr. Majid Alfayyadh, CEO of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC), said at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit in Washington, D.C., that Saudi Arabia’s healthcare transformation under Vision 2030 is positioning the Kingdom as a global model for agile and innovation-driven health systems. He noted that this transformation extends to the frontiers of gene and cell therapy, where Saudi Arabia is taking bold steps toward medical innovation.
Speaking during the panel titled “New Frameworks for Agile Innovation of Gene Editing Therapies,” Dr. Alfayyadh highlighted that the Kingdom’s progress in gene and cell therapy reflects its commitment to sustainable innovation and readiness to lead the next generation of genomic medicine. He added that KFSHRC’s locally developed CAR-T therapy, which achieved full remission in advanced cancer cases while reducing treatment costs by 80 percent, demonstrates how localized biomanufacturing can transform accessibility and affordability across the region.
He explained that such breakthroughs are supported by an enabling regulatory environment led by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, which has accelerated clinical approvals and aligned national standards with international benchmarks. He noted that KFSHRC now leads nearly half of all active clinical studies in the Kingdom, strengthening a research ecosystem that translates scientific discovery into tangible medical outcomes.
Building on this progress, Dr. Alfayyadh discussed the upcoming launch of KFSHRC’s biomanufacturing facility, which will meet 9 percent of national demand for cell and gene therapies and generate an estimated two billion dollars in savings by 2030. He underlined that this milestone reflects Saudi Arabia’s strategic investment in localization, research translation, and infrastructure that supports global partnerships in biotechnology and precision medicine.
Concluding his remarks, Dr. Alfayyadh affirmed that Saudi Arabia’s biotechnology leadership is rooted in a unified national vision, a robust regulatory framework, and the cultivation of Saudi scientific talent capable of sustaining the next wave of healthcare innovation.
KFSHRC has been ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa and fifteenth globally among the world’s top 250 academic medical centers for 2025, and recognized by Brand Finance as the region’s most valuable healthcare brand. It is also listed among Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals 2025, Best Smart Hospitals 2026, and Best Specialized Hospitals 2026, reaffirming its leadership in innovation-driven care.