Diaverum signs joint venture agreement with Nazer Group

November 2011: Diaverum, one of the world´s largest independent renal care providers, has signed a joint venture agreement with Nazer Group, a Saudi Arabian Holding Company with major investments in the medical sector including Bupa Arabia.

A substantial part of this agreement is the opening of a new dialysis clinic in Dammam. With this move, Diaverum, currently present in 15 countries in Europe, Latin America and Australia, is expanding its reach into the Middle East. Local staff, patients and payers benefit from high standards of clinical policies and procedures, thorough internal and external audits, awarded training programmes and a 'patient first' approach.

Diaverum also announced the appointment of Ercan Ebcin as Managing Director Diaverum Saudi Arabia. Ebcin previously headed Operations at Diaverum Turkey.

On the announcement of the agreement, Ercan Ebcin commented: "Our goal is to provide first-class dialysis care with the highest safety standards in Saudi Arabia. As a product independent renal care provider, we have a holistic approach to our patients, putting them in the centre of everything we do. Our patients will experience a warm and homely atmosphere when visiting our clinics, and when leaving, we hope they feel revitalised."

To improve quality of life for the patients, the medical research of Diaverum focuses on both the physical and the emotional aspects of kidney disease with topics such as prevention, enhanced quality of life, and efficiency of the treatment.

Dag Andersson, President and CEO Diaverum said the renal care provider is "aligning operational efficiency and highest medical quality in the best interest of the patient. Growing Diaverum globally means adding more competence and experience to our network of renal care. The knowhow of providing three million treatments to our 19,000 patients goes into every single medical activity".

The need for renal replacement therapy is increasing steadily across the globe. More than 5% of the world´s adult population is estimated to suffer from kidney injury or chronic kidney disease (CKD). The number of end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients exceeded two million globally in 2010. For ESRD patients, the only alternative treatments are lifelong dialysis or kidney transplantation. In Saudi Arabia, approximately 12,000 patients are in need of renal replacement treatment.

"Diabetes, one of the most important risk factors for chronic kidney disease, is spreading in the Arabian world. Approximately 50% of the male population in Saudi Arabia above the age of 45 suffer from this disease - one of the highest percentages in the world. This results in an increasing need for dialysis. We are certain that we found the right partner in Diaverum to meet this demand. Our joint focus is the well being and health of our patients" said Loay Nazer, Chairman of Nazer Group.