Mubadala Bio and Eli Lilly to Set Up Packaging Operations in Abu Dhabi
The 125,000-square-metre site at KEZAD will handle Mounjaro and Foundayo, with work phased and subject to regulatory approval.
Mubadala Bio and Eli Lilly have signed an agreement to establish packaging and logistics operations for the US drugmaker's weight-management medicines at a 125,000-square-metre site in Abu Dhabi.
The site sits in Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi, known as KEZAD. It will handle Mounjaro, which contains tirzepatide, and Foundayo, an oral weight-management medicine built on orforglipron, and will support Mubadala Bio's contract manufacturing and distribution work. Implementation will run in phases and depends on technical, quality and regulatory approvals.
Hamad Almarzooqi, group deputy chief executive of Mubadala Bio, and Nabil Daoud, president and general manager of Lilly's Intercontinental Hub, announced the partnership at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit 2026, which ran from October 20 to 22.
Neither company disclosed the agreement's financial value, planned production capacity, employment targets or a launch date.
Foundayo was approved in the UAE for chronic weight management in April 2026, making the country the second to register the treatment. Mounjaro has been on the UAE market since August 2022.
Clinical trial push
The Department of Health–Abu Dhabi, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and AstraZeneca will assess whether up to 30 clinical trials can be run in the emirate by 2030. The proposed research covers cardiovascular, renal and metabolic disease. The emirate's media office estimates the collaboration could generate about $50 million (AED 180 million) in life sciences research investment by 2030, with the first six trials expected to start at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi before the end of 2026. Not all of the proposed trials have confirmed regulatory approval, and the full investment sum has not been committed.
Data and drug discovery
The Department of Health and Isomorphic Labs agreed to a 24-month collaboration aimed at producing a preclinical research roadmap for AI-enabled drug discovery. The work will explore using Abu Dhabi's clinical and genomic data inside the company's Trusted Research Environment.
A separate two-year programme with WHOOP will draw on wearable health data to study cardiovascular and metabolic health. WHOOP's initial six-month study will test whether continuous monitoring combined with personalised coaching affects weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and sleep in adults with obesity and hypertension.
M42 agreements
M42, Oracle and AstraZeneca announced a nonbinding initiative to explore how AI and electronic health records can identify patients with uncontrolled hypertension, along with people who might qualify for clinical trials. M42 also signed an agreement with Bahrain's Future Generations Reserve Fund to secure a location for a new healthcare facility in Bahrain Bay. The site is expected to offer multidisciplinary services and extend M42's presence in the kingdom. Neither initiative carries a disclosed investment value or an implementation date.
Essam Mohamed, group chief executive of Mubadala Bio, placed 18th on a 2026 ranking of the region's top healthcare executives. The company runs eight manufacturing businesses across Asia, Africa and Europe, four of them in the UAE, serving more than 50 countries. It acquired Al Ittihad Drug Store and Global Medical Supply Chain in 2026.
