Abu Dhabi signs AI drug discovery and clinical trial deals worth $50 million

The latest:

Four research agreements signed at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit 2026 tie the emirate’s health system to AI drug design, wearable health data and global clinical trials. The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi announced deals with Isomorphic Labs, WHOOP, and a joint collaboration with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and AstraZeneca. Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended the signings.

Details:

• The AI deal: DoH and Isomorphic Labs will build a pre-clinical research roadmap for selected AI-enabled discovery projects over 24 months, with the work carried out inside Abu Dhabi’s Trusted Research Environment. It was signed by DoH Undersecretary Dr. Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi and Isomorphic Labs President Max Jaderberg.
• The technology: Isomorphic Labs says its drug design engine, IsoDDE, is built from foundational AI models intended to deliver the predictive accuracy needed to navigate novel biological systems. Jaderberg described the collaboration as a critical step in advancing AI-driven drug discovery, aimed at speeding medicines to patients globally.
• The trials: DoH, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and AstraZeneca will explore the feasibility of up to 30 trials by 2030 across AstraZeneca’s biopharmaceutical portfolio, focused on cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases — described as leading causes of mortality in the UAE. The parties estimate AED180 million, or $50 million, in research investment.
• The timeline: The first six trials are expected to begin at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi by the end of 2026. The announcement did not name which therapies or indications those initial studies will cover, nor the enrolment targets.
• The wearables study: WHOOP and DoH launched a phased 24-month research programme on heart and metabolic health. The first study tracks weight, waist circumference, heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and sleep over six months in adults with obesity and high blood pressure, with oversight supported by Abu Dhabi physicians.
• The company’s claim: WHOOP founder and CEO Will Ahmed said the company first began working in the UAE in 2016 and that hundreds of thousands of citizens and residents now use it, calling the agreement a landmark partnership. Later studies will examine whether wearables reduce cardiometabolic risk factors alongside treatment.
• The data framework: DoH said the WHOOP research will follow governance guidelines covering data minimisation, transparent processing and secure storage, in line with applicable regulations and international best practices. No independent oversight body was named for the programme.
• The official framing: DoH Chairman Mansoor Ibrahim Al Mansoori said realising AI’s potential in medicine requires rich clinical and genomic data, a research environment that translates insight into discovery, and regulation that advances at the pace of science. He cited the Emirati Genome Programme as part of that foundation.
• The industry case: Mikhail Kosiborod, Senior Vice President for Late CVRM BioPharmaceutical R&D at AstraZeneca, said trials give patients early access to promising therapies and generate data in diverse populations. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi CEO Dr. Georges-Pascal Haber said the partnership would expand access to innovative treatments. Abu Dhabi says Middle Eastern populations remain underrepresented in drug discovery data.

Background:

Abu Dhabi has run a population-scale Emirati Genome Programme and an earlier research partnership with AstraZeneca covering genomics and digital health. The emirate’s intelligent life sciences strategy links that data to research infrastructure and regulatory pathways.

Between the lines:

The underrepresentation argument appears in both the Isomorphic Labs and AstraZeneca announcements, which suggests Abu Dhabi is marketing its genomic dataset as a scarce input rather than simply buying access to foreign research. The AED180 million figure is framed as a potential outcome by 2030, tied to feasibility rather than committed spending, and the 30-trial number carries the same conditional phrasing.

What’s next

Watch for the first six Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi trials to open by end-2026, the disease areas they target, and whether the Isomorphic Labs roadmap names specific discovery projects within its 24-month window.