U.S.-based DNA Health Corp. signed a leasing agreement with Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), the master developer of Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island, to establish an integrative medicine and wellness center in The Collection retail complex at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort Abu Dhabi.

Affiliated with the GW Center for Integrative Medicine in Washington, D.C., Saadiyat Island's DNA Center for Integrative Medicine and Wellness is due to open in early 2013. The center will offer a model of family health care based on a holistic approach uniting leading-edge Western medicine advanced diagnostics and cellular therapies complemented by Eastern alternative modalities.

Currently a $100 billion industry, global wellness and health tourism is projected to grow to $1 trillion within the next decade. A recent survey of GCC residents revealed that more than 60 percent of respondents preferred an integrative approach to medical treatments where high-quality Western standards were complemented by wellness and alternative therapy programs at a luxury destination.

Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island is an island 500 meters off the UAE capital's coast and is being developed by TDIC into a residential, cultural and tourism destination. Saadiyat's master plan includes the Cultural District, envisioned to become a global arts hub featuring premier cultural institutions such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi museum.