Investments, Funding & Disinvestment

The announcement came during Moderna’s Science Day, where the biotechnology company outlined plans to broaden its pipeline across oncology, rare diseases, and immune-mediated disorders.

The transaction drew robust interest from both regional and international investors, with the orderbook reaching approximately US$1.6 billion, making the offering about 3.2 times oversubscribed.

Developed through a partnership between Masdar City, M42, and Attentive Science, Biosphere Labs aims to address one of the biggest challenges facing researchers and biotechnology companies: access to high-quality laboratory infrastructure.

Antares will lead the research phase and apply its proprietary drug-discovery platform to a limited number of oncology targets before Novartis decides whether to exercise licensing options for individual programmes.

The acquisition is expected to strengthen Merck’s position in the rapidly growing life sciences sector, particularly in areas such as cell and gene therapy, precision diagnostics, multi-omics research, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

The move follows Sanner’s acquisition of Springboard in January 2024 and reflects the company’s goal of building a seamless, end-to-end CDMO platform spanning medical technology, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology.

The strategy aims to enhance national health security, create jobs, promote innovation, and improve access to quality and affordable healthcare commodities while reducing the country’s reliance on imports.

The healthcare package forms part of a broader set of cooperation agreements covering education, green industry, vocational training, and support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Japan will channel the support through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Under the new structure, hospitals and clinics previously operating as NMC Oman will now operate under the Numa Health brand, while EMC will continue as a dedicated sub-brand focused on dermatology and aesthetic medicine.