Arep launches lab‑supply marketplace

Arep Platform is pitching itself as a one-stop marketplace for lab gear and consumables, tied to an online training platform for researchers. (arep.sa) The Riyadh-based company says its site lets users compare prices, read reviews and order from “trusted vendors,” while its marketplace storefront advertises products such as digital balances and micropipettes. The main site lists Arep’s address at The Garage on King Abdullah Road in Riyadh and shows a 2026 copyright notice. (arep.sa) (store.arep.sa) Arep is pairing that storefront with an academy business. Its website says researchers can take expert-led courses, use augmented reality simulations, and then buy the same consumables used in those experiments through the marketplace. (arep.sa) (academy.arep.sa) That model targets a familiar problem in lab work: buying research supplies is often fragmented, with separate steps for training, vendor selection and ordering. Saudi government procurement is already heavily digital in other sectors through the Ministry of Finance’s Etimad platform, which manages tenders, contracts, budgets and payments. (mof.gov.sa) The timing also lines up with Saudi Arabia’s broader push to build biotechnology capacity. The National Biotechnology Strategy says the kingdom wants to become a biotechnology leader in the Middle East and North Africa by 2030 and a global hub by 2040. (vision2030.gov.sa) (spa.gov.sa) Saudi policy documents have also focused on the mechanics of research purchasing. Procedural rules published by the Saudi National Institute of Health cover procurement of research equipment, materials and supplies for research, development and innovation projects. (snih.gov.sa) Arep is entering a market that already has established procurement platforms elsewhere in life sciences. Labviva says its software connects purchasing departments, researchers and lab operations teams, while ZAGENO says its platform lets buyers compare and order products across thousands of suppliers. (labviva.com) (go.zageno.com) Arep’s pitch is narrower and more local: a Saudi platform that combines training with ordering and frames procurement as part of the research workflow, not a separate back-office task. The next test is whether it can add enough vetted suppliers and active labs to make that marketplace useful day to day. (arep.sa)