Eli Lilly and Company and Mubadala Bio have agreed to introduce packaging and logistics for GLP-1 medicines in Abu Dhabi, advancing the emirate’s effort to expand its pharmaceutical industry.
The work will use a 125,000-square-meter site in KEZAD that comprises packaging and warehousing facilities. Announced Oct. 20, the collaboration calls for activities to be introduced in phases, subject to technical, quality and regulatory requirements. The Abu Dhabi Media Office gave no start date, production volume or investment figure for the Lilly work.
The official announcement does not name individual medicines or specify which products are covered by the agreement. The National reported that the packaging plans include Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Foundayo (orforglipron). It quoted Mubadala Bio Group Deputy CEO Hamad Almarzooqi saying the drugs would be contract-manufactured in the UAE and distributed worldwide. The official announcement specifies packaging and logistics; it does not describe local production of ingredients or finished formulations.
Almarzooqi also cited medicine security and reliance on imports as reasons to develop domestic capacity, The National reported. Mubadala Bio says local manufacturing and pharmaceutical logistics are among its priorities. The Abu Dhabi Media Office described the agreement as part of an effort to expand contract-manufacturing capabilities and strengthen the emirate’s life-sciences industry.
Foundayo received approval for chronic weight management from the Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE) on April 3. The regulator said the UAE was the second country to register the medicine. The Abu Dhabi Media Office said the UAE was an early launch market for Mounjaro in August 2022, following U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.
Mubadala Bio was launched in 2025 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company. Eli Lilly Intercontinental Hub President and General Manager Nabil Daoud called the agreement “an important step” for the company’s long-term presence in the UAE. The companies have yet to set a date for introducing Lilly’s packaging and logistics operations at KEZAD.
