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GluCare Rebrands To Metabolic, Dropping Diabetes-Only Identity
The Dubai health player is widening its scope and setting sights on UK and US expansion.
Dubai-based Metabolic has rebranded from its former moniker of GluCare.Health, stepping beyond its roots as a diabetes-focused clinic to position itself as a broader metabolic health platform.
Launched in 2020 by Ali Hashemi, Dr. Ihsan Almarzooqi and Zeina Abdalla, the company says the name change reflects how its clinical model has widened over five years in the UAE. Instead of centering solely on glucose control, it now targets metabolic syndrome as a web of linked risks — from obesity and cardiovascular disease to fatty liver disease, PCOS and chronic kidney disease.
The core product is what the company calls “Metabolic OS,” a hybrid care operating system that connects diagnostics, continuous remote monitoring and AI-driven decision support inside a clinician-led model. The pitch centers on delivering fewer disconnected tests, and more coordinated oversight between visits.
“Over five years we’ve built what we wish the healthcare system had from day one: an operating system for metabolic risk,” said Ali Hashemi, CEO and co-founder. “Not a collection of apps, devices, and disconnected tests, but an integrated model where data becomes signal, signal becomes action, and action translates into outcomes. AI is most powerful when it supports great clinicians and helps patients stay engaged between visits. That’s the DNA of Metabolic OS”.
The shift comes as the Middle Eastern health sector grapples with some of the highest diabetes and obesity rates globally. In the UAE, many people with type 2 diabetes remain uncontrolled, while the same underlying drivers spill into heart disease and endocrine disorders.
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“[Those] metabolic drivers are fueling obesity, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease, and hormonal disorders,” said Dr. Ihsan Almarzooqi, managing director and co-founder. “The clinical need is clear: earlier detection, better risk stratification, and longitudinal support. The technology now exists to do this well, but only if it’s integrated into a coordinated care model. That’s what we’ve built”.
Metabolic’s services now span endocrinology, cardiology, obesity management, sleep-related metabolic disorders and hormone care for men and women. Preventive health and executive risk assessments are part of the mix.
The company cites 2025 real-world publications showing HbA1c reductions of up to 2.3 percentage points, around 10% weight loss within three months, and improvements in triglycerides and blood pressure. It also reported stronger muscle preservation among patients using GLP-1 therapies.
GluCare.Health will remain as the group’s research and evidence arm.
News
LUVED Is A New Curated Preloved Marketplace For The UAE
Sellers keep 100 percent of every sale and AI can build a listing in five seconds — though the app’s smartest tools are still coming.
Secondhand shopping has become mainstream in the UAE, but the experience is still scattered across resale sites, social media and informal group chats. LUVED, a mobile-first marketplace that launched in Dubai this month, is betting it can pull that activity into one place — and that the thing buyers and sellers actually want is not more inventory, but trust.
The app trades in what it calls circular luxury: preloved fashion and lifestyle pieces across men’s, women’s and children’s categories, bought, sold or given away peer to peer. Its main pitch is economics, with sellers keeping 100 percent of every sale under a zero-commission, fast payout model, while buyers are promised vetted pieces at lower prices.
Where LUVED is staking its reputation is verification. Sellers pass a KYC check, and items run through a two-layer authentication system powered by Entrupy that pairs instant AI screening with human expert review for high-value pieces. Authenticity certificates travel with each item, payments sit in escrow, and a buyer-protection package the company calls The Safety Net adds a 48-hour return window and dispute resolution. Door-to-door logistics removes the in-person meetups that make most resale deals awkward.
An in-app assistant called Luvbot — offering selling insights and demand-based recommendations — is soon to be introduced to the platform. Other features include autofill and dynamic pricing that lets users build a listing in as little as five seconds from three photos, plus a swipe-based feed, story-style drops and in-app chat in English and Arabic. Finally, a gifting layer, Luved & Gifted, lets users pass items to others inside the app rather than sell them.
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“After moving to Dubai, I saw how difficult it was to sell or even give things away,” says founder and CEO Shaima Sibtain. The friction is real, and so is the competition. In resale, trust is won transaction by transaction — and that is the test LUVED has set itself.
The app is live on the App Store now, with Google Play to follow. The company also plans to expand across the region, which will be the real test for a marketplace staking everything on trust.
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