News
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
NEOPAY Wants To Follow Merchants Across Channels And Borders
A controlling 65% stake in noon payments would give NEOPAY access to marketplace sellers, online merchants and the payment flows they generate.
It’s been a long time since checkouts were single defined places. A merchant might take payments at a physical register, on its own website and through an online marketplace, sometimes in more than one country. NEOPAY wants to follow those transactions wherever they happen.
The UAE payments company has entered into an agreement to acquire a 65% controlling stake in noon payments. NEOPAY already runs the acquiring infrastructure that lets merchants accept card payments, along with omnichannel acceptance and a merchant services platform. This new deal would add noon payments’ embedded payments platform, e-commerce gateway and merchant network across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. That would considerably expand both NEOPAY’s digital commerce capabilities and its regional reach.
For merchants, the attraction is a single provider for online and in-store payments, plus faster settlements, data and analytics, and value-added financial services.
“Payments should be simple, reliable, and built for the markets they serve,” said Faraz Khalid, CEO of noon. His counterpart at NEOPAY, Vibhor Mundhada, added: “We have built a strong payments business in the UAE, and our ambition is now to take that capability across the region”. The acquisition, Mundhada added, would “expand our footprint into Saudi Arabia and Egypt” while reinforcing NEOPAY’s position at home.
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NEOPAY is also keen to point out potential payment volume increases. The company says noon payments’ integrations with marketplace sellers and online merchants create high transaction density in some of the region’s fastest-growing digital commerce segments. It also believes control of the business would give it access to those merchant relationships and payment flows, and speed up the rollout of alternative payment methods and installment options.
The combined roadmap targets faster merchant onboarding, better payment performance, tighter fraud controls and embedded financial services. The deal could also strengthen cross-border payments and settlement along key regional commerce corridors.
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