Guyana to create life science park for biotech development

– emerging as regional powerhouse in healthcare, biotechnology

The Guyana Government is fast positioning itself as a regional powerhouse in the health sector, and is now looking to enhance its medical innovation capacity with the establishment of a life science park – a facility that would foster biotechnology development here.
President Dr Irfaan Ali made this announcement at the commissioning of the Enmore Regional Hospital on Friday evening. He explained that Guyana is not waiting for the future of medicine but is building it by taking a bold leap into the world of predictive, personalised and precision medicine.
“At the centre of this transformation will be the creation of a Life Science Park, a sprawling high-tech hub of medical innovation that will anchor Guyana’s emergence as a regional powerhouse in healthcare and biotechnology.”
“It will be a laboratory where breakthrough ideas are born and lives are saved through science. This park will house bio-bank, storage facilities. It will be home to a Tropical Medicine Institute. Within it will be established centres for drugs and diagnostic development and state of the art vaccine and biologics, and manufacturing plants,” the Head of State posited.
A science park is a commercial facility designed to promote research and development and innovation in the fields of medicine, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology, bridging the gap between science development and business excellence.

Discussions underway with Belgium
President Ali disclosed that his Government is already in discussions with a Life Science Park in southern Belgium, with support from the European Union (EU) to establish strong global partnerships and ensure that Guyana is plugged into the world’s most advanced medical networks. “The goal is nothing less than making Guyana a world-class health provider and a Caribbean hub for biotech innovation, a place where AI (artificial intelligence) meets medicine, where science meets service…” he noted.
According to the Guyanese leader, the life science park will be the engine of a new economy, one driven by research innovation and healing, belonging to the people of Guyana and powered by the highly-anticipated Gas-to-Energy (GtE) Project, which is slated to come onstream mid-2026 and slash electricity prices by half.
He went on to note that his Government is not just stopping at infrastructure but also forging collaborations with global leaders in smart care and medical innovation.
“The Life Science Park will be co-housed with world-leading academic institutions, making it a hotbed for cutting edge research in translational science, clinical trials and data analytics. Our natural gas resources will power the park, giving us a low-cost energy advantage for data warehouses and AI labs, because we know that in the future, health care is powered not just by compassion, but by computation,” the President stated.

Guyana is already positioning itself to leading the way in this age of smart care with the build out of a digitally integrated health ecosystem that is supported by global experts and the harnessing of AI. In this regard, discussions have commenced with experts at a top New York-based healthcare network.
“We were sitting with some specialists from Northwell a few nights ago, and they were telling us that, now they can [place] a few robots in Guyana, and their specialist from Northwell can perform surgery here with the robots, with their specialist sitting at Northwell and supervised by our local doctors here; that is where medicine is going, and it’s not guesswork. It is precision medicine,” the Guyanese leader related.
Noting that AI will help guide complex clinical decisions and assist in early diagnosis of life-threatening conditions, the President added that the country is already exploring AI-assisted interpretation of medical images such as X-rays, CT scans and ultrasounds.
“Guyana will emerge as a regional leader in smart care health services through a bold and forward-thinking health agenda. The country is rapidly integrating digital technology into public health infrastructure. We’re ushering an era where data driven decisions, telemedicine, electronic health records and AI-assisted diagnostics are no longer futuristic ideas, but everyday realities,” he posited.
Additionally, Guyana is working with Northwell Hospital, using their expertise to develop a fully integrated emergency medical services system to revolutionise emergency response, ensure faster, more efficient pre-hospital care and coordinated hospital transfer.
Moreover, in seeking out the best minds in global medicine, Guyana is also working with renowned Mount Sinai Hospital to develop an advanced oncology centre here, which will bring cutting edge cancer diagnostics, treatment and resource to local shores thus reducing the need for patients to travel abroad for care.
“With this facility, we’ll offer hope, healing and high-quality oncology services that meet international standard. This is cancer care redefined. This is treatment with dignity,” he noted.
The Head of State further detailed plans to set up a specialised stroke rehabilitation centre, a first its kind in the country. The centre will focus on restoring quality of life to those affected.
“We are not just raising the bar. We are raising it with the help of the best in the world… In rolling out this transformed health ecosystem, excellence will be our partner… Guyana will be a country where help meets hope, where research meets results, where the future begins now… We are not merely making improvements, we are building a system that will be second to none – a healthcare system that is modern, responsive, compassionate and world class,” President Ali posited.