The partnership is already delivering, with collaborations underway between Unilabs and Hub71 startups Takalam and GlycanAge across mental health, preventative care and biological-age testing.
Abu Dhabi, UAE, September 2026: Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, has partnered with Unilabs, one of Europe’s leading diagnostics companies, to accelerate the development and commercial adoption of new health technologies in Abu Dhabi. The partnership connects startups with Unilabs’ clinical and industry expertise, with initial collaborations already spanning mental health, preventative care and biological-age testing.
Unilabs joins Hub71+ Life Sciences, Hub71’s specialist ecosystem for HealthTech and life sciences startups, as an anchor market partner, giving startups access to its diagnostics and imaging capabilities, clinical and industry experience and healthcare network. Through the partnership, Unilabs will work with startups to explore potential technology integrations, proofs of concept and commercial partnerships, creating pathways to test, validate and commercialise new technologies and turn promising innovations into services for real customers. Unilabs will also provide market insight and mentorship while supporting scientific development and engagement with the wider life sciences community through Unilabs Academy, its research arm.
The partnership is already translating into commercial and clinical opportunities, with Unilabs working with Hub71 startups including Takalam, a digital mental health platform, and GlycanAge, a biotechnology company focused on biological-age diagnostics. Notably, the collaboration with Takalam will see Unilabs enter the mental health space for the first time, expanding its offering into a new area of healthcare.
Basma Ahmed AlBadi AlDhaheri, Head of Growth and Value Creation, Hub71, said: “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.”
With Takalam, Unilabs is developing a new mental health and wellbeing offering that brings together Takalam’s digital wellbeing platform and Unilabs’ diagnostic expertise to provide clients with a more personalised approach to wellbeing. Through selected health assessments and testing, the offering will generate additional health insights that can help inform personalised wellbeing plans and targeted interventions, complementing Takalam’s digital experience.
Unilabs also partnered with GlycanAge following clinical evaluation and approval of its technology. The company has introduced GlycanAge’s biological-age testing solution across its healthcare network, supported by training, clinical education and engagement with healthcare providers, opening a new diagnostic category relevant to preventative and functional medicine.
Through this collaboration, Unilabs and GlycanAge are enhancing diagnostic capabilities across the region by introducing advanced glycan-testing technologies and methodologies. The partnership will help bring new innovation to the market and support the evolution of preventive, data-driven healthcare.
Salah Bahri, Chief Strategy Officer of Unilabs Middle East, said: “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.”
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 ecosystem connects startups with the regulators, healthcare providers, investors and industry partners they need to develop, test and bring new BioTech, MedTech and digital health solutions to market. With Unilabs joining as an anchor market partner, these pathways are further strengthened, helping startups validate their technologies, access industry expertise and turn innovation into solutions that can be adopted in Abu Dhabi and beyond.
About Hub71:
Hub71 is Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem that enables founders to build globally enduring homegrown tech companies in any sector by providing access to global markets, a capital ecosystem, a global network of partners and a vibrant community filled with highly skilled talent governed by forward-thinking regulation. Backed by the Government of Abu Dhabi and Mubadala Investment Company, Hub71 is growing its vibrant community of tech startups, investors, government and corporate partners to ensure the availability of investment, commercial activities and incentives from the public and private sectors. Through Hub71’s entrepreneurial infrastructure, value-add programmes, enabling services and support packages, founders can build and scale widely adopted technologies with purpose and impact. Hub71 is on a mission to introduce new minds and technologies to Abu Dhabi, finding new ways to build globally enduring technology companies and sustain the nation’s continuous economic development.
About Unilabs:
Unilabs is a leading global provider of diagnostic services, offering a comprehensive package of laboratory, pathology, and genetic solutions across four continents. With more than 13,000 specialists in 14 countries, Unilabs leverages cutting-edge digital technologies in its laboratories to enhance the lives of nearly 100 million people each year.
