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From Lab to Market: Saudi Health Research Charts New Investment Path

Innovation and modern technologies are expanding investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia’s healthcare sector. (SPA)
Innovation and modern technologies are expanding investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia’s healthcare sector. (SPA)
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From Lab to Market: Saudi Health Research Charts New Investment Path

Innovation and modern technologies are expanding investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia’s healthcare sector. (SPA)
Innovation and modern technologies are expanding investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia’s healthcare sector. (SPA)

Saudi health research is moving beyond laboratories and research centers into investment forums and international partnerships, emerging as a new driver of economic diversification.

Research shaped by the needs of patients in the Kingdom and fueled by expanding healthcare infrastructure and the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence and medical technology is linking better care to global investment and the localization of knowledge.

With investment opportunities across the healthcare sector estimated at 330 billion riyals ($88 billion) through 2030, medical research is gaining ground as a pillar of an innovation-driven health economy built on partnerships and technology transfer.

The shift comes as Saudi Arabia reshapes its healthcare system under Vision 2030, moving beyond a treatment-focused model toward a broader system that combines prevention, better quality of life, improved healthcare services and modern technology.

The Health Sector Transformation Program is driving the effort by developing hospitals, healthcare centers and emergency services, accelerating digital transformation, and improving access to and the quality of care.

The changes are opening the door for private companies and global businesses to help build healthcare capacity and develop solutions tailored to the local market.

Dr. Salem Assiri, chairman of the scientific committee of the Saudi Interventional Cardiology Society’s annual scientific conference, told Asharq Al-Awsat that medical specialties, including interventional cardiology, had advanced rapidly in recent years.

Many conditions that once required surgery — or had no available treatment — can now be treated through interventional cardiology procedures, he said.

Investment in health research is also an economic catalyst that can draw global companies to the Kingdom, Assiri added.

Modern technology

Speaking at the Saudi International Conference on Interventional Cardiology, Assiri said the latest technologies for treating coronary artery disease and implanting heart valves were now available in the Kingdom.

Saudi specialized centers seek to introduce new technologies as soon as they secure the required regulatory approvals, including from the US Food and Drug Administration, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority and other relevant international bodies, he said.

That ensures patients in the Kingdom can access the technologies in accordance with the highest medical standards.

Assiri said specialized conferences bring Saudi and international experts under one roof to exchange expertise and discuss the latest advances in interventional cardiology and heart valve implantation.

Artificial intelligence

Saudi medical professionals are on par with their international counterparts, Assiri said.

Such gatherings offer a valuable opportunity to draw on advanced expertise in artificial intelligence and modern medical technology, while discussing research focused on patients and the Kingdom’s healthcare system, he added.

The next phase will bring more studies rooted in Saudi Arabia’s healthcare environment and addressing the needs of patients in the Kingdom, stated Assiri. Several studies are already underway, with others expected to be launched from the region in the coming period.

The conference extends beyond scientific and medical issues, bringing together specialists and decision-makers from health and regulatory authorities, as well as representatives of public and private healthcare centers and insurance companies, he said.

Vision 2030

Such partnerships have become essential as the Kingdom pursues its Vision 2030 goals, he added, stressing that healthcare must be part of Saudi Arabia’s broader economic transformation.

The conference aims to promote the exchange of expertise and knowledge, support continuing medical education, and encourage scientific research and innovation.

The effort is intended to improve the quality of care and medical services while strengthening the Kingdom’s standing in the medical and research fields.

The Saudi Interventional Cardiology Society organizes the conference.

The society works to advance the specialty in the Kingdom by supporting training and medical education, encouraging scientific research, and strengthening cooperation among physicians and medical organizations in Saudi Arabia and abroad.

Its work seeks to improve treatment outcomes for heart patients and raise the standard of healthcare services nationwide.

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Business

US, China Gear Up for Mid-September AI Safety Talks

A man stands next to a poster of a humanoid robot during the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on June 25, 2026. (AFP)
A man stands next to a poster of a humanoid robot during the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on June 25, 2026. (AFP)
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US, China Gear Up for Mid-September AI Safety Talks

A man stands next to a poster of a humanoid robot during the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on June 25, 2026. (AFP)
A man stands next to a poster of a humanoid robot during the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on June 25, 2026. (AFP)

The US and China are gearing up to discuss AI safety risks during a dialogue planned for mid-September, two sources briefed on the discussions told Reuters, as rapidly advancing frontier AI capabilities reach a global tipping point.

The talks, the first official bilateral discussions devoted exclusively to AI between the US and China since US President Donald Trump took office for a second time, will be led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the US side, the sources, who were briefed on the planning, said on condition of anonymity.

Reuters is reporting the tentative mid-September period for the first time. A White House official said “there is currently no planned AI-related meeting in mid-September.”

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet on September 24 during a summit in Washington.

The US wants to discuss cooperation on monitoring AI-directed cyberattacks, and has floated a proposal to ask US and Chinese AI labs to “police themselves” and share information to prevent AI-linked cyberattacks, one of the sources said on condition of anonymity.

Nearly 700 rogue AI agents built on OpenAI models hacked AI startup Hugging Face in July and attempted to cover their tracks by forging logs, OpenAI and cybersecurity researchers said last week, underscoring the risks of coordinated agent swarms acting autonomously for months undetected by humans.

A swarm of rogue OpenAI agents hijacked a German website this spring and transformed it into a bulletin board for other AI agents, Reuters exclusively reported on Friday.

“The talks between the two AI superpowers are ⁠coming at the most critical juncture,” said Paul Triolo, a partner at DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group. “It is now or never.”

Washington is also worried about the potential for a future Chinese Mythos-level model with capabilities to conduct cyberattacks, and wants to bring up alleged Chinese distillation of proprietary US AI models, the source said.

US tech firm Anthropic is the developer of Mythos.

In June, top White House science and tech advisor Michael Kratsios accused China's Moonshot AI of stealing from Anthropic's AI model Fable to help create its K3 release, saying the Chinese company distilled Anthropic's model.

Distillation is the process of training smaller AI models using output from larger, more expensive ones as part of an effort to lower the costs of training a powerful new AI tool.

Reuters is reporting details of the upcoming talks' proposed agenda for the first time.

On the Chinese side, the talks could be led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, Bessent's protocol counterpart, but alternatives such as China's No 7 official Ding Xuexiang may be considered, according to the second source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ding, a confidant of Xi and a member of the ruling Communist Party's powerful seven-person Politburo Standing Committee, coordinates China's technology, AI and semiconductor policies.

Reuters could not determine the location or identity of other participants, though Kratsios and China's science and technology minister, Yin Hejun, could attend the talks, the second source added.

The final agenda and participants remain in flux, the sources cautioned.

The White House declined to comment on the AI talks. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment. China's foreign, science and industry ministries, as well as the National Development and Reform Commission and cyberspace regulator, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On Tuesday, Kratsios told reporters ⁠in North Carolina that he had a “great” meeting with Yin on the sidelines of a G20 innovation summit in the US this week. Bessent said he had “limited” exchanges on AI with Chinese officials at this week's G20 finance meeting.

The US urged G20 members to take a hands-off approach to AI regulation and avoid creating rules for the technology at the same innovation summit. China signed the Carolina Principles, an agreement aimed at discouraging the development of AI-specific regulations, in a rare show of tech alignment with the US.

Kratsios' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chinese officials have repeatedly stressed the importance of the AI talks in preparatory meetings with US counterparts, and view them as a major deliverable of the US-China leaders' summit, according to the two sources and another one familiar with the matter. Reuters is reporting this development for the first time.

In the past week, China's cyberspace regulator publicly warned about “extreme AI loss ⁠of control risks” and a state media-affiliated blog criticized Anthropic, emphasizing that any limits on frontier AI should apply equally to Chinese and US models. Chinese firms have in recent months unveiled what they describe as Mythos-like products.

Former Microsoft executive Craig Mundie has emerged as an important go-between behind the scenes, sounding out Chinese counterparts on US proposals for the AI dialogue, the source said. Mundie is co-chair of the unofficial US-China Track II AI dialogue channel.

Reuters reported last month that Microsoft had cultivated a relationship with Beijing that was among the deepest of any foreign technology company operating in China.

Both sides also discussed AI guardrails at ⁠a Track 1.5 dialogue in Beijing last week, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a participant, wrote on social media.

In June, Trump signed an AI executive order setting up a voluntary framework for pre-release cybersecurity reviews of frontier AI models, but the US has not released the criteria for these reviews.

Meanwhile, employees at top US AI labs including Anthropic and OpenAI have called for “pacing the frontier” to manage the global risks of advanced AI.

“The Chinese side has expressed concern around whether the US has sufficient regulation around the most advanced AI models. Both sides are motivated ⁠to make sure they can manage a cross-border crisis effectively,” said Scott Singer, co-director of the China AI Initiative at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

While outcomes are likely to be limited, opening a channel where both sides could share observations and jointly monitor AI safety incidents would be an important starting point, said Samm Sacks, a senior fellow at New America, a US policy think tank.

“We are at a tipping point where frontier agents can cause massive damage when unmonitored. Both the US and China are vulnerable. This is beyond geopolitical rivalry,” Sacks added.

“The US and China have to come together in some form, or we're both going to lose.”

Business

US Gasoline Price Over $4 a Gallon On Labor Day Weekend

Chevron station prices on Sourth Decatur Boulevard and Spring Mountain Road as gas prices will be the highest over Labor Day weekend on Thursday, September 3, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP)
Chevron station prices on Sourth Decatur Boulevard and Spring Mountain Road as gas prices will be the highest over Labor Day weekend on Thursday, September 3, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP)
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US Gasoline Price Over $4 a Gallon On Labor Day Weekend

Chevron station prices on Sourth Decatur Boulevard and Spring Mountain Road as gas prices will be the highest over Labor Day weekend on Thursday, September 3, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP)
Chevron station prices on Sourth Decatur Boulevard and Spring Mountain Road as gas prices will be the highest over Labor Day weekend on Thursday, September 3, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP)

With the war in the Middle East still raising energy costs, Americans face record-high gasoline prices for Labor Day weekend, just as political campaigns kick off for midterm Congressional elections.

The national average gasoline price will probably hit $4.03 on Labor Day, far surpassing the previous record of $3.83 per gallon set in 2012, said GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan, according to Reuters.

“Gasoline, while not at all-time records, is at its highest level ever recorded this late in the calendar year, meaning Americans could for the first time ever see a national average price of gasoline above $4 per gallon on Labor Day,” De Haan wrote in a recent blog post.

The national average price of gasoline stood at around $4.13 per gallon on Thursday, up nearly a dollar from last year's average, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. Analysts say $4 per gallon is a pain point for many consumers.

Gasoline prices, among the most visible economic indicators for US consumers, can quickly shape perceptions of the broader economy. With prices hovering above $4 a gallon for much of the year, the issue has become a persistent concern for US President Donald Trump and his Republican Party.

Trump has pledged to lower energy costs. In recent weeks, he stepped up criticism of refiners and fuel retailers, accusing them ⁠of profiting from elevated pump prices.

On August 14, Trump said Americans should be willing to pay a “tiny little bit more” for gasoline to ensure Iran could not obtain a nuclear weapon.

Labor Day is typically a final summer getaway for many Americans, with many people traveling by car or airplane.

Prices at the pump have climbed alongside crude oil prices, which this week jumped back over $90 a barrel after renewed military action between the US and Iran revived concerns about disruptions to global crude supplies.

Prices of distillates, which include diesel and heating oil, also increased, driven in part by ongoing attacks on Russian refining facilities, which raised concerns about supply disruptions.

Retail fuel prices and crude oil typically move in the same direction because crude feedstock is the dominant cost for producing the fuel.

“It's completely out of control,” Randi O’Brien, 57, said while filling up her truck at a Phillips 66 near Evergreen, Colorado.

Colorado, along with Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota have recorded some of the steepest price gains since the war started. California, Hawaii and Washington currently have the nation's highest average gasoline prices.

“I can only afford $15 worth of gas right now,” said O'Brien, who drives roughly 40 minutes round trip each day to work at Home Depot. She partially blames high prices on the rise in crude and fuel exports from the US following the ⁠start of the Iran war, which prompted many countries to turn to America for fuel supplies.

Refined products exports are up more than 10% compared with last year, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

“We have our own fuel here, yet we're sending it elsewhere,” she said.

O'Brien's struggles are being echoed by motorists across the US.

With the cost of even a routine grocery run climbing and household budgets already stretched, Houston resident Madison Moore, 28, said she was scaling back her Labor Day travel plans.

“It used to always be easy to pack up the car, go to Galveston out to the beach and have a cookout or something. People don't want to move like that anymore though,” Moore said while filling up at a Shell ⁠gas station in Houston.

“You would think that our government can do a little bit more for their people when they actually need it.”

Persistently high gasoline prices are primarily a supply story, said Kuan Dosmuratov, research analyst at consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

Concerns about disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have lifted both crude prices and refining margins, while attacks on Russian refineries have tightened fuel inventories across the board.

Currently, there are few operational and policy levers that can be ⁠pulled to boost fuel supplies. US refinery utilization currently stands at 98%, the highest level since 2018.

The government has already extended the Jones Act waiver, allowing easier fuel shipments between US ports. Washington also ended summer-blend gasoline requirements early to try to cap prices.

US gasoline inventories fell by 1.2 million barrels last week to 205.7 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. This compares with the five-year average for the month of August of ⁠217.6 million barrels.

Prices for other refined products have risen sharply as well. US diesel prices this week hit a new record while air travelers over the Labor Day holiday are expected to pay 20% more for tickets than a year earlier, according to AAA.

“The public doesn't obsess with diesel but I see a better than even chance that retail numbers will surpass the all-time record of about $5.82 per gallon from June 2022,” Tom Kloza, chief energy adviser at Gulf Oil, said. “It presents a worrisome future,” he added.

Business

Investment Deputy Minister Highlights Saudi-China Economic Ties at CMF Select Shanghai 2026

Deputy Minister of Investment for Economic Affairs and Investment Studies Dr. Saad Alshahrani affirmed that China is a strategic investment partner for Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
Deputy Minister of Investment for Economic Affairs and Investment Studies Dr. Saad Alshahrani affirmed that China is a strategic investment partner for Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Investment Deputy Minister Highlights Saudi-China Economic Ties at CMF Select Shanghai 2026

Deputy Minister of Investment for Economic Affairs and Investment Studies Dr. Saad Alshahrani affirmed that China is a strategic investment partner for Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
Deputy Minister of Investment for Economic Affairs and Investment Studies Dr. Saad Alshahrani affirmed that China is a strategic investment partner for Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

Deputy Minister of Investment for Economic Affairs and Investment Studies Dr. Saad Alshahrani affirmed that China is a strategic investment partner for Saudi Arabia, emphasizing that the next phase will focus on deepening bilateral investments, bolstering industrial partnerships, and building shared value chains.

Speaking at a Saudi-China strategic investment dialogue during the Capital Markets Forum (CMF) Select Shanghai 2026, Alshahrani invited Chinese companies to capitalize on local opportunities and collaborate on building next-generation industries across manufacturing, logistics, technology, and emerging sectors, the Saudi Press Agency said.

Reviewing economic progress under Saudi Vision 2030, Alshahrani noted that the Saudi economy, domestic investment, and foreign direct investment (FDI) stock have doubled over the past decade, with FDI inflows surging nearly fivefold. Non-oil domestic investment now accounts for roughly 40% of non-oil GDP, ranking the Kingdom second among G20 nations after China, while foreign companies operating in the Kingdom have grown tenfold.

He underscored that the National Investment Strategy consistently exceeds its annual targets, lifting the Kingdom into the global top 10 of the FDI Confidence Index. Moving forward, the Kingdom is prioritizing high-impact, productive investments that advance technology transfer, generate quality employment, and expand export reach globally.