Hub71 and European Diagnostics Leader Unilabs partner to advance healthcare innovation and commercial adoption in Abu Dhabi

Hub71 has announced a partnership with Unilabs, one of Europe’s largest diagnostics providers, to accelerate the development and commercial adoption of HealthTech and life sciences technologies in Abu Dhabi. Unilabs has joined Hub71+ Life Sciences as an anchor market partner, opening its diagnostics and imaging capabilities, clinical expertise and healthcare network to startups. Initial collaborations already underway include work with digital mental health platform Takalam and biotechnology firm GlycanAge on projects spanning mental health, preventative care and biological-age testing.

“The value of an innovation ecosystem is measured by the outcomes of its connections. By bringing Unilabs together with startups like Takalam and GlycanAge, we are turning startup innovation into economic value for Abu Dhabi. This is how Hub71 contributes to the emirate’s growing Life Sciences sector: by connecting startups to the expertise, infrastructure and market access they need to build and scale from here,” said Basma Ahmed AlBadi AlDhaheri, Head of Growth and Value Creation, Hub71.

Partnership model and early deployments

Under the agreement, Unilabs will work with Hub71 startups on technology integrations, proofs of concept and commercial partnerships to create routes for testing, validation and commercialisation. Unilabs will also provide market insight and mentorship, support scientific development through its research arm Unilabs Academy, and engage the wider life sciences community in Abu Dhabi.

• Takalam: The collaboration will see Unilabs enter the mental health space for the first time by combining Takalam’s digital wellbeing platform with Unilabs’ diagnostic expertise. The offering intends to augment digital wellbeing journeys with selected health assessments and testing to inform personalised wellbeing plans and targeted interventions.
• GlycanAge: Following clinical evaluation and approval, Unilabs has introduced GlycanAge’s biological-age testing across its healthcare network. The roll-out is supported by training, clinical education and provider engagement and aims to establish advanced glycan-testing as a diagnostic category relevant to preventative and functional medicine.

“Healthcare innovation needs to be grounded in clinical expertise and real market needs. Our partnership with Hub71 gives us a direct route to identify promising startups across diagnostics, digital health and life sciences, and explore how their technologies can be integrated into our laboratories, healthcare network and services. Our work with Takalam and GlycanAge demonstrates the potential to create new healthcare offerings while advancing longer-term scientific research,” said Salah Bahri, Chief Strategy Officer of Unilabs Middle East.

Unilabs describes itself as a leading global provider of diagnostic services with more than 13,000 specialists across 14 countries, leveraging digital technologies to reach nearly 100 million people each year. Its role as an anchor partner is expected to deepen startup access to clinical infrastructure and real-world deployment opportunities within the emirate.

Hub71+ Life Sciences was launched in 2025 with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), the Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE) and the Health, Endurance, Longevity and Medicine (HELM) cluster as founding partners. The specialised ecosystem is designed to connect startups with regulators, healthcare providers, investors and industry partners to help BioTech, MedTech and digital health solutions move from development to market.

With Unilabs joining the initiative, Hub71 says the pathway for startups to validate technologies, access industry expertise and deploy services in Abu Dhabi and beyond will be strengthened, potentially accelerating the region’s adoption of preventive, data-driven healthcare solutions.