Riyadh Ignites Global Healthcare Innovation at MESH Core 2025

Mass General Brigham and Saudi healthcare leaders collaborate to redefine the future of healthcare through AI, gene therapy, and venture-backed innovation

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MESH Core Riyadh 2025—an unprecedented healthcare innovation bootcamp under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Education, Yousef Al-Benyan, concluded in Riyadh. This landmark event marked the debut of the MESH Incubator’s globally renowned healthcare innovation bootcamp, MESH Core™, outside the United States, bringing together pioneers in medicine, research, and entrepreneurship to forge the future of healthcare in Saudi Arabia.

The gathering was a convergence of minds from Mass General Brigham, and Saudi Arabia’s most prestigious institutions: King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC), King Saud University Medical City, and NEOM.

Over two intensive days, attendees, including physicians, researchers, venture capitalists, and innovators, participated in sessions designed to dismantle traditional medical boundaries. Panels and lectures explored emerging megatrends, from artificial intelligence in diagnostics to gene therapy, aging, and longevity. The tone was set early by the welcome of Chris Coburn, Chief Innovation Officer at Mass General Brigham, and Dr. Marc Succi, Founder and Executive Director of Mass General Brigham MESH Incubator™, who challenged participants to think disruptively and embrace failure as a stepping stone to transformation.

Leaders shared real-world strategies for building innovation ecosystems, from “bytes to bedside” digital health advancements to securing early-stage financing for breakthrough startups. Sessions such as “Ignore AI at the Patient’s Peril” and “From Lab to Label” emphasised the urgency of embracing change.

Dr. Angela Shen, Head of Regulatory at Mass General Brigham Gene and Cell Therapy Institute and a Strategic Innovation Leader at Mass General Brigham Innovation, led a standout session exploring how Saudi Arabia could evolve into the next global life science hub. Coupled with powerful storytelling from local voices of Dr. Ayman Jazaeri, the event underscored a shared commitment to import and cultivate innovation locally through education, infrastructure, and international collaboration.

Mass General Brigham is an integrated academic healthcare system headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and one of the United States’ leading biomedical research institutions. With five Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals, the system is also home to the MESH Incubator™—its in-house entrepreneurship accelerator established in 2016. As the first incubator embedded within a healthcare system, MESH provides dedicated physical space to foster innovation and collaboration. It operates MESH Core™, Mass General Brigham’s official certificate Healthcare Innovation Bootcamp and annual conference, now hosted on-site across multiple continents.

KFSHRC has achieved remarkable recognition by being ranked first in the Middle East and Africa and 15th globally on the list of the world’s top 250 Academic Medical Centres for the third consecutive year. It has also been named the most valuable healthcare brand in both the Kingdom and the Middle East, according to the 2025 Brand Finance rankings. Furthermore, in the same year, KFSHRC was recognised among the world’s best 250 hospitals and was included in the World’s Best Smart Hospitals list for 2025 by Newsweek magazine. For more information, please visit www.kfshrc.edu.sa or contact our media team at mediacoverage@kfshrc.edu.sa.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at: 
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