Mubadala teams up with G42 to set up a biopharma manufacturing campus in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company has joined forces with Group 42, the artificial intelligence and cloud computing company, to set up a biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus (Biopharma Campus) in the UAE capital.

The new facility will tap into global vaccine and therapeutic products to strengthen regional supply chains and drive forward the country's diversification and economic growth agenda, the organisations said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

“Through the establishment of this campus in partnership with G42 and our group companies, we are investing in innovation and reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s rapidly developing life sciences ecosystem,” said Musabbeh Al Kaabi, chief executive of UAE Investments at Mubadala.

Bringing cutting-edge manufacturing technologies to the UAE will not only strengthen the Emirates’ biopharma supply chain and pandemic response, but also provide opportunities for local talent development and long-term, sustainable economic growth, he added.

The agreement reflects Mubadala’s ambition of developing a sustainable and resilient healthcare and life science ecosystem within Abu Dhabi. The Biopharma Campus will invest in and establish biopharma initiatives.

“There is a massive opportunity for pharma and healthcare companies to leverage AI and cloud technologies to improve their processes … we at G42 are very pleased to be partnering with Mubadala to build on the respective strengths and further accelerating the development of the UAE’s life sciences ecosystem,” said Peng Xiao, group chief executive of G42.

Global supply shortages and the limited amount of advanced manufacturing activity within the region has resulted in biopharmaceuticals becoming a high growth market (with 10 per cent compound annual growth rate over the past five years) and a priority investment area for Mubadala within the life sciences sector, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund said.

The new campus will focus on end-to-end manufacturing of advanced biologics and host anchor partnerships with Contract Manufacturing and Development Organisations. A CDMO model enables manufacturers to work with innovators, reducing product risk and enabling economies of scale.