Dr. Azad Moopen’s journey in developing the healthcare sector of the region has been phenomenal. From a single doctor clinic in Dubai in 1987, over 33 years, Aster DM Healthcare has grown into a global healthcare conglomerate of more than 377 facilities spread across eight countries Guided by his mission to provide quality healthcare at affordable costs at the door-steps of people, Dr. Moopen’s efforts have played a significant role in shaping the healthcare delivery model of the region.

Moopen initiated innovative corporate social responsibility programmes. Some of the ongoing non-profit activities of the foundation are the establishment of stand-alone community dialysis centres, early disease detection and cancer screening centres, radiation oncology centres, free paediatric and adult cardiac surgery programmes, subsidies for advanced surgical treatments for underprivileged people, village adoptions and local empowerment programme for women and children, and various health and safety awareness campaigns, across Gulf countries, India, Africa, Afghanistan and Philippines, either directly and through supporting NGOs. He is also actively involved in setting up educational establishments in Saudi Arabia, India and the UAE in moulding future generations. On 14 July 2015, Aster DM Healthcare, chaired by Moopen, made a donation of US$ 2.72 million to Al Jalila Foundation, a UAE based charitable organization promoting medical education and research.

He was the Gulf Area convener of the Malabar Airport Development Action Committee, which spearheaded the efforts for the establishment of Kozhikode International Airport through a public–private partnership initiative in the 1990s. This is the first airport set up with such private participation in the country. He is the founding chairman of the Association of Kerala Medical Graduates and the Association of Indian Muslims in the UAE. He is also one of the promoters of Credence High School, Dubai, a secondary school he co-founded along with others in 2014.

MIMS Charitable Trust under his leadership established a rural health centre at the backward Vazhayur Panchayat near Kozhikode in 2008 and adopted 7,000 BPL members for comprehensive free out-patient and in-patient care. The trust is adopting the BPL population in the three wards around MIMS in the Corporation of Kozhikode and also plans to conduct a breast and cervical cancer screening programme.

He participated in establishing the 600-bed tertiary care Malabar Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) hospital at Kozhikode in Kerala in 2001. This was the first multi-specialty hospital in India to receive National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers accreditation in 2007. The second 150-bed MIMS hospital was set up at Kottakkal in Malappuram district in 2009.

In 1982, Dr. Azad Moopen started his career as a Medical Lecturer at Calicut Medical College but a chance visit to Dubai opened to him the immense possibilities of the untapped healthcare sector in the Gulf and he took a life changing decision of relocating to Dubai in 1987.

Azad Moopen (born 28 June 1953 in Kalpakanchery, Kerala) is an Indian doctor and philanthropist, and a developer of healthcare facilities in Asia-Pacific. He is the chairman and managing director of Aster DM Healthcare, a healthcare conglomerates in the Middle East and India founded in 1987. In 2010 and 2011, he was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman and Padma Shri by the Government of India, respectively. Forbes ranked him 6th in the “Top 100 Indian Leaders in UAE” list, and according to Arabian Business named him as 29th in the “50 Richest Indians in the GCC”. His total wealth was estimated at approximately $5.9 billion by Forbes in 2017.

Azad Moopen was born on 28th June , 1953 in the Indian village Kalpakanchery in Malappuram district of Kerala. Son of late MA Moopen, a noble soul, freedom fighter and social leader, Dr. Azad Moopen is a Gold Medalist in MBBS and a Post Graduate in General Medicine from Calicut Government Medical College in Kerala, and a Diploma holder in Chest Diseases from Delhi University India.