(Yicai) Jan. 18 -- Dian Diagnostics Group is teaming up with the Gulf Medical University in the United Arab Emirates on providing testing lab services and a number of other fields, as part of the Chinese health testing service provider’s strategy to expand its global footprint.

The collaboration will include scientific research, drug commercialization, talent sharing and building co-operation channels, Dian Diagnostics said on WeChat today, citing the agreement inked between the two parties yesterday in Hangzhou.

The tie-up will be an opportunity for Dian Diagnostics to open its flagship ‘precision treatment centers,’ which provide testing lab services and self-developed drugs and solutions, in the region to enhance the healthcare systems in both the UAE and the entire Middle East, said Sheng Xia, deputy director of the Hangzhou-based company’s international business.

Ajman-based Gulf Medical University has faith in Dian Diagnostics’ technologies and strengths and the pair will have in-depth collaborations in multiple fields in future, Chancellor Hossam Hamdy said. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese biomedical technologies have become highly prized in the Middle East and many tie-ups are being sought out.

“We are in the middle of proactively preparing for the opening of our first overseas lab in Vietnam, to create the template for offering testing services in international markets. We are also in talks with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health to study the feasibility of entering the local market,” Chairman Chen Haibin said in August last year.

The company’s international business will be first positioned in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East, he added.

Dian Diagnostics, which was founded in 1996 and went public in July 2011, already entered the EU market during pandemic with its 15-minute Covid-19 testing kit.

Dian Diagnostics’ share price [SHE:300244] closed down 1.9 percent at CNY20.70 (USD2.90) today.

Editor: Kim Taylor