Business

Sonrai Analytics in Dubai deal to bring transformational AI cancer solutions to UAE

Signing the partnership agreement at Arab Health in Dubai are Michele Tarnow, founder and chief executive of Alliance Care Technologies, with Sonrai Analytics founder and CEO Dr Darragh McArt
Signing the partnership agreement at Arab Health in Dubai are Michele Tarnow, founder and chief executive of Alliance Care Technologies, with Sonrai Analytics founder and CEO Dr Darragh McArt

ARTIFICIAL intelligence specialist Sonrai Analytics in Belfast has signed a strategic partnership in Dubai to bring transformational AI solutions to enhance cancer detection and biomarker discovery to the UAE market.

The Queen's University spin-out, a UK precision medicine innovator in AI, will partner with Alliance Care Technologies (ACT), a developer of innovative solutions in digital healthcare.

The agreement - signed at the Arab Health Congress - will give UAE researchers and clinicians access to AI-supported clinical systems to assist in the accelerated detection of cancerous tumours and improve patient outcomes.

Through the partnership, ACT can access Sonrai’s proprietary AI technology and expertise to bring this precision oncology capability to more oncologists, hospital systems and other medical providers in the UAE.

Sonrai’s pedigree in building AI assets for regulatory approval has been deployed in high-level programmes with Roche and the NHS.

Through ACT, leading healthcare organisations will have access to Sonrai’s comprehensive AI suite and cloud services, including the potential to co-develop algorithms that could become AI biomarker tests for healthcare organisations.

Speaking in Dubai, Sonrai Analytics founder and chief executive Dr Darragh McArt said: “We're delighted to have this partnership in place to expand our market opportunity to new territories and to introduce our AI data analytics platform and algorithms to key individuals in the care pathway to improve patient outcomes.

“ACT has a fantastic understanding of the area in which Sonrai operates, and I look forward to a successful relationship.”

Michele Tarnow, chief executive at Alliance Care Technologies, added: “UAE's diverse population makes it uniquely situated for universal population health research.

“Sonrai provides the ideal platform for collaborative research across omics medicine, biotech and pharma. We are excited to announce Sonrai's arrival in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the opportunity to support the region's growth in global health.”

Northern Ireland's dynamic life and health sciences sector employs more than 18,000 people and generates £1.3 billion in revenues. The region is home to a wealth of innovative companies, as well as internationally recognised universities, and researchers are at the forefront of convergent technology in the areas of health data analytics, machine learning and diagnostics.

Fahd Asif, senior business development manager at Invest NI, said: “This agreement will play a vital role in achieving the region's vision of reducing cancer mortality via early detection and screening.

“We were delighted to facilitate the introduction between both parties and this partnership arises as part of our efforts in the Middle East to promote Northern Ireland's capability in life and health sciences.

“We continue to support Sonrai Analytics in achieving its growth, which has the potential to transform and progress the preventative healthcare system in the region.”

In November Sonrai was boosted with confirmation that New York and Paris-based global venture capital investor Eckuity is injecting significant capital into the company, which followed an announcement earlier in the year of a £2.2m seed funding round led by Forward Partners.