RGMBS 2026 Life Sciences Innovation Forum Draws More Than USD 120 Million in Investor Interest as 23 Global Biotech Innovators Pitch in Riyadh

The Life Sciences Innovation Forum (LSIF), the investment arm of the Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit held 14–16 September 2026 in Riyadh, attracted more than USD 120 million in investor interest as 23 biotechnology companies from eight countries pitched to investors, judges and Kingdom life‑sciences leaders. The cohort — led by eight companies from the United States and four from Saudi Arabia — presented across five scientific heats ranging from AI and bio‑data to cellular therapy and gene editing. The LSIF culminated with South Korea’s Bilix being named Grand Winner.

"We were proud to welcome leading investment firms that expressed their willingness to invest more than $USD 120 milliond in promising biotech opportunities emerging from LSIF 2026," said Dr Abdulaziz Alrifi, Director of Partnerships at KAIMRC.

Event highlights and awards

The forum convened 23 companies representing the United States (8), Saudi Arabia (4), South Korea, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany and Switzerland. Presentations often paired advanced science with explicit pathways to localization, clinical development or manufacturing in the Kingdom.

• Grand Winner: Bilix (South Korea). A representative of Bilix said, "Winning LSIF 2026 is a great honor, however the real win is scaling our startup with the Kingdom's research ecosystem."
• Most Scalable Biotech Startup Award: CellKure (United States).
• Outstanding Founding Team Award: Quantabia.
• Breakthrough Science Award: Swaza.
• Innovation Excellence Award: Agemica.

LSIF 2026 was sponsored by Chiyoda Corporation and ran as part of the wider summit organized and supervised by the Ministry of National Guard (Health Affairs), hosted by King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC) and King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU‑HS). The Ministry of Investment, Invest Saudi, and the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) served as strategic partners.

Scientific heats and notable pitches

Companies competed in five focused heats:

• AI and Bio Data — Amprologix (UK) pitched AI‑assisted discovery of narrow‑spectrum peptide antibiotics; Pneumatica Bio (Australia) demonstrated mechanistic modelling with automated cell experiments; LinusBio MENA (Saudi) presented hair‑based precision exposomics.
• Vaccine Development and Biomanufacturing — Biotech Innovations Company (Saudi) detailed a recombinant‑protein MERS‑CoV vaccine program; OctoCells (France) presented an animal‑free 3D bioscaffold platform; Cevza Therapeutics (Australia) outlined an RNA therapy platform with plans for R&D localization in Saudi Arabia.
• Cellular Therapy and Gene Editing — CellKure (US) highlighted Phase 1 multi‑antigen T‑cell therapy results in acute myeloid leukemia; MVRIX (South Korea) presented an in vivo CAR‑T via targeted mRNA delivery; Medixcel (Saudi) proposed building cell and gene therapy manufacturing and partnerships locally.
• Bioengineering and Synthetic Biology — NanoZymeX (Switzerland) described a lipid nanoparticle platform for enzyme replacement therapy; AUREXO Therapeutics (US) presented engineered bacterial vesicles for precision oncology; Ingenskin Therapeutics (France) showed an autologous skin substitute for chronic wounds and trauma.
• Diagnostics and Drug Discovery — SiNON Nano Sciences (US) proposed a carbon nanoparticle platform to cross the blood‑brain barrier; Spirea (UK) offered a dual‑payload antibody‑drug conjugate to tackle cancer drug resistance; Accanito Therapeutics (US) discussed clinical‑stage oncology platforms with plans for technology transfer and local manufacturing.

Judges and attendees focused questions on regulatory routes, clinical evidence, scaling manufacturing, localization economics and intellectual property — practical concerns for translating early‑stage science into treatments.

Outlook

Organizers framed LSIF as a mechanism to link international biotech innovation with Saudi Arabia’s research and manufacturing ambitions. With investor interest exceeding USD 120 million and several companies proposing localization or partnership pathways, the forum positioned emerging founders alongside the investors and institutions who could enable regional development of therapies and biomanufacturing capabilities through the next decade.