Middle East Business
Abu Dhabi health department, Cleveland Clinic and AstraZeneca plan up to 30 clinical trials by 2030
By Staff Writer | 25 October 2026
The collaboration could bring about AED180 million, or US$50 million, of life sciences research investment to Abu Dhabi, with the first six trials due to start at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi by the end of this year.
The Department of Health Abu Dhabi, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and AstraZeneca have agreed to explore up to 30 clinical trials in the emirate by 2030. The collaboration was announced at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit and places Abu Dhabi among the priority locations in the drug maker's global clinical trial network.
The trials will draw on AstraZeneca's biopharmaceutical portfolio and will concentrate on cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases. According to the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, cardiovascular disease accounts for 34 per cent of all deaths in the country.
The money and the timetable
The three parties estimate that the programme could bring around AED180 million, or US$50 million, of life sciences research investment into Abu Dhabi by 2030. The first six trials are expected to begin at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi before the end of 2026.
The investment is around $50 million over the next few years. We have already finalised the feasibility work for six studies and are planning to start the first by the end of this year.
Iskra Reic, International Executive Vice President, AstraZeneca
Under the collaboration, the department provides the research and regulatory setting, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi provides the clinical and research capability on site, and AstraZeneca brings its global research and development programme. The aim is to build local research capacity and to produce evidence that reflects the health needs of patients in the region.
Two further agreements at the summit
The department signed two other research agreements at the same event. With Isomorphic Labs it will develop a pre-clinical research roadmap for selected AI-assisted drug discovery projects over 24 months, with the research carried out inside Abu Dhabi's Trusted Research Environment.
With WHOOP, the wearable technology company, it will run a phased research programme on heart and metabolic health. The first study, within a 24-month programme, will follow adults with obesity and high blood pressure for six months to measure how continuous health data and coaching affect weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and sleep.
What it means beyond the laboratory
Clinical trials at this scale need more than investigators. They need trial coordination space, sample handling and storage, secure data infrastructure and, where volumes grow, additional outpatient capacity. A programme of up to 30 trials over four years is the kind of steady demand that hospital estates teams plan around.
For consultants and contractors who work on healthcare facilities in the UAE, the practical point is timing. With six trials due to start within weeks, the early work will run in existing space. Any expansion would follow once the first results show how many of the 30 trials proceed.