RTA links up with Chinese players + Abu Dhabi partners with US biotech firms

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has teamed up with Chinese transport and infrastructure players for support on its Metro Blue Line and railway projects, according to the Dubai Media Office. Agreements were inked with railway signal systems developer Casco Signal and tech giant Huawei.

The details: Casco will establish an R&D center and testing laboratories in Dubai focusing on signaling and communication systems for the Dubai Metro Blue Line and possible future projects. With Huawei, the RTA will organize joint workshops and proof-of-concept trials for emerging tech and AI solutions tailored to transport, traffic flow, and metro systems.

From genomes to cures

Abu Dhabi is building a pipeline to turn its population-scale genomic data into gene-editing treatments for rare and inherited diseases. The Health Department signed three agreements spanning therapy development, clinical research, specialist care, and future manufacturing, drawing on the Emirati Genome Program — which helped make the UAE home to the world’s largest genomic database last year, according to Abu Dhabi Media Office.

Behind the ink: Abu Dhabi healthtech group M42 and US-based biotech firm Mammoth Biosciences will work on next-generation treatments, clinical research, and advanced-therapy manufacturing. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia will help build expertise in treating metabolic, clotting, urea-cycle, and central nervous system disorders, while US gene-editing biotech Arbor Biotechnologies will explore research, clinical development, and future biomanufacturing.