Strategic partnership with TOWER targets longevity, regenerative medicine, advanced diagnostics and other emerging fields
Druk Holding & Investments Limited (DHI) is opening a new frontier in health, exploring whether cutting-edge research, technology and clinical innovation can become a future industry for Bhutan.
DHI has entered into a strategic partnership with the TOWER Council Foundation to explore opportunities spanning research and development, clinical practice, health data and innovation, including regenerative medicine, longevity, advanced diagnostics, women’s health and mental health.
Announced on October 1, the collaboration is being positioned as an early step towards establishing a longer-term Generational Health platform in Bhutan, linking healthcare with science, technology, entrepreneurship and investment.
The partnership, however, is not yet a health project in the conventional sense. No specific investment amount, hospital or research facility, clinical service or individual research project has been announced. Instead, DHI and TOWER intend to identify, assess and develop opportunities over time, potentially bringing together government institutions, private companies, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors.
DHI CEO Ujjwal Deep Dahal said the partnership reflects the company’s ambition to develop entirely new industries rather than simply invest in established sectors.
“The DHI 10X Roadmap is about building the next generation of industries in Bhutan, and Generational Health is a field where Bhutan can lead,” he said.
He said the collaboration would seek to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem around Generational Health, conduct research into health span using data and technology, and develop capabilities that allow value generated from innovation to be retained in Bhutan.
The move comes as DHI pushes its 10X strategy, which aims for 10-fold growth by 2035 and places innovation, technology and future-ready industries at the centre of Bhutan’s long-term economic transformation.
Under the new partnership, health is therefore being viewed not only as a public service but also as a potential field for research, intellectual property, technology development and commercial enterprise.
TOWER defines Generational Health as an approach that examines how genetic, epigenetic, environmental and social factors influence health outcomes across generations. Its areas of focus include women’s health, brain health, longevity, regenerative medicine, advanced diagnostics and environmental health.
The partnership could potentially allow Bhutan to develop capabilities in these emerging fields while connecting local institutions with international scientific and investment networks.
TOWER Global Partner Divya Viveka said the objective was to build lasting capabilities in Bhutan rather than simply import technologies developed elsewhere.
“The opportunity lies in building capabilities that endure and working together to explore how these fields can progress locally, strengthen the foundations for future industries, and create meaningful value across generations,” she said.
DHI and TOWER said Bhutan’s relatively small scale and centralised institutions could provide an environment in which emerging health technologies and new models of care could potentially be developed and validated at a national level.
If translated into concrete projects, the collaboration could create opportunities beyond healthcare delivery, including scientific research, technology development, intellectual property, specialist skills, new enterprises and international partnerships.
The agreement also comes at a time when DHI is stepping up its engagement with frontier technologies.
Days before the TOWER announcement, DHI signed a separate agreement with US-based Viome Life Sciences and Gelephu Mindfulness City to explore the development of a molecular foundation model for diagnostics and drug development.
That initiative envisages a research and development centre and dedicated computing facility in Bhutan. However, it too was described as an initial step towards developing a defined investment proposition and entering into definitive agreements.
The TOWER partnership is broader.
Rather than committing to one technology or facility, it establishes a framework through which potential opportunities in health research, technology, clinical practice and investment can be identified and evaluated.
For DHI, the move represents an expansion of its investment horizon into an area where health, science, data, technology and economic development increasingly intersect.
Established in 2007 under a Royal Charter, DHI manages national investments with the stated purpose of safeguarding and enhancing national wealth for the long-term benefit of Bhutan.
The latest initiative extends that mandate into a relatively new territory: the possibility of turning knowledge and innovation in health into economic and national capabilities.
But the scale and impact of the initiative remain to be determined.
The agreement does not disclose the amount that DHI or TOWER will invest, name specific research or clinical partners, establish a dedicated institution or set deadlines for individual projects. Nor does it announce any immediate changes to healthcare services available to the public.
The next stage will therefore be critical. The partnership will have to move from identifying possibilities to selecting viable projects, securing investment, building scientific and technical capacity and establishing partnerships capable of delivering measurable outcomes.
For now, the TOWER agreement is a framework for exploration rather than a fully funded health programme.
Its significance will ultimately rest on what emerges from it—whether Bhutan can build enduring capabilities in health innovation and translate them into research, technology, enterprises and services that create value across generations.
For DHI, however, the direction is clear: health is increasingly being considered not only as an essential national service, but as a potential frontier of innovation and economic opportunity.
Nidup Lhamo, Thimphu
