Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Sidra Medicine to Establish First-Ever Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program in Qatar

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sidra Medicine, a specialty healthcare organization for women, children and young people in Qatar. The MOU, signed by Dr. Iyabo Tinubu-Karch, CEO of Sidra Medicine, and Madeline Bell, President and CEO of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will establish a collaboration between CHOP and Sidra Medicine in Sidra Medicine's efforts to create the first-ever pediatric bone marrow transplant (BMT) program in Qatar.

The MOU signing ceremony was held at CHOP and attended by H.E. Mohammed Bin Sultan Alkuwari, Consul General of the State of Qatar in New York, as well as Dr. Ahmed Al Hammadi, Acting Chief Medical Officer of Sidra Medicine, and Prof. Khalid Fakhro, Chief Research Officer at Sidra Medicine. The main objective of the MOU is to establish a working relationship between CHOP's Cellular Therapy and Transplant Section (CTTS) and Sidra Medicine. CHOP's CTTS will offer guidance as Sidra Medicine pursues an in-country BMT program, provide a robust education plan for its BMT clinical staff and assess readiness to start treating pediatric patients.

CHOP's Blood and Marrow Transplant program is part of CTTS and serves the needs of children who require a blood or marrow transplant to replace stem cells to treat their illness. Transplant is a treatment for a variety of diseases including certain types of pediatric cancer, disorders of the blood and immune system as well as a variety of other rare disorders and syndromes. CHOP's BMT program has been serving the needs of pediatric patients since 1976 and is recognized for its quality, service, innovative approaches and excellent patient outcomes. The program has one of the highest volumes of pediatric blood and marrow transplant-eligible patients among BMT providers in the United States.

"CHOP is dedicated to improving health outcomes for children across the world," said Ruth Frey, Vice President of Global Strategy and Business Development at CHOP. "We are thrilled about this collaboration and the opportunity to offer CHOP's BMT expertise to support Sidra Medicine's launch of the first-ever pediatric BMT program in Qatar."

Sidra Medicine is the only hospital in Qatar to provide pediatric hematology and oncology care for children and young people with cancer and blood disorders. The hospital sees approximately 70 to 100 cases of childhood cancer cases every year, with leukemia, central nervous system tumours and lymphoma amongst the most common.

Dr. Ahmed Al Hammadi, Acting Chief Medical Officer and Executive Chair of Pediatrics at Sidra Medicine, said, "As a leader in specialist pediatric care in Qatar and the region, Sidra Medicine is proudly working alongside the top international health and research organizations to enhance our expertise in precision medicine. It is truly a milestone to launch Qatar's first pediatric BMT program and we are delighted to partner with a world-class institution like CHOP to provide our patients with the most advanced and effective treatment options. Taking our renowned multidisciplinary approach, different pediatric specialties will coordinate and work as a single unit to offer holistic and excellent care to our patients."

The BMT program at Sidra Medicine will treat patients with various blood diseases and cancers including sickle cell disease, thalassemia, leukemia, lymphoma and solid tumors. In addition, the program will treat pediatric patients with primary immune deficiencies, metabolic diseases, and certain genetic and autoimmune disorders.

In parallel to this work, CHOP and Sidra Medicine will also explore potential collaborations on clinical research in cell and gene therapies. CHOP has been a global leader in cell and gene therapies in which CHOP's CTTS has played a key role in the clinical trials, including all FDA approved therapies currently available. These therapies involve treatment for conditions such as sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia and adrenoleukodystrophy.