US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has signed a deal with Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Bio to contract-manufacture and package two of its best-selling weight-loss treatments, the injectable Mounjaro and the oral Foundayo, inside the UAE. Under the arrangement, the drugs will be prepared at UAE facilities before being shipped to markets across the region and around the world.
The agreement was announced by Hamad Almarzooqi, deputy chief executive of Mubadala Bio, on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit this week. He said the medicines would now be "contract-manufactured here in the UAE and distributed around the world," underscoring the country's growing role in the global pharmaceutical supply chain. Mubadala Bio currently operates four manufacturing plants, including Bioventure Healthcare in Jebel Ali, which is expected to handle part of the new workload.
Mubadala Bio, established in May 2025, has positioned itself around three goals: reducing the UAE's reliance on imported medicines, tackling diseases that are especially prevalent in the country, and building homegrown pharmaceutical expertise. Mounjaro, built on the active ingredient tirzepatide, and Foundayo, its oral counterpart, have both faced persistent global supply shortages in recent years as demand for obesity and type 2 diabetes treatments has surged far beyond what manufacturers could initially produce.
The deal lands amid a broader push by UAE health authorities to strengthen the country's pharmaceutical security and public health standards, including new rules this year limiting salt, sugar and fat content in packaged food. Industry observers see the Eli Lilly tie-up as another sign of Abu Dhabi's ambition to become a regional hub for biopharmaceutical production rather than simply a market for imported drugs.