The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) has announced two strategic agreements with Sanofi and Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) during Abu Dhabi’s participation at BIO International Convention 2026 in San Diego, USA, strengthening the emirate’s capabilities across vaccine innovation, biomanufacturing and healthcare logistics.
Scientific breakthroughs are transforming healthcare at an unprecedented pace. Yet one of the greatest challenges facing health systems globally remains the ability to translate innovation into real-world impact, ensuring new discoveries can be developed, manufactured and delivered to patients quickly, reliably and at scale.
Abu Dhabi is addressing this challenge by strengthening the foundations required to support the full health innovation journey. Through strategic partnerships announced during Abu Dhabi’s participation at BIO International Convention 2026, in San Diego, USA, the emirate is expanding its capabilities across vaccine innovation, advanced manufacturing and healthcare logistics, helping accelerate the path from scientific discovery to human impact.
The announcements form part of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi's (DoH) fifth consecutive strategic mission to the USA, where the emirate is showcasing its intelligent life sciences ecosystem and strengthening partnerships that support the transition from discovery to human impact.
The two strategic agreements were signed with Sanofi and Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), supporting the development of capabilities in vaccine innovation, biomanufacturing, and healthcare logistics, while enhancing healthcare supply chain resilience and strengthening future health preparedness.
DoH and Sanofi announced plans to establish a Vaccine Innovation Centre in Abu Dhabi. The centre will strengthen Abu Dhabi's contribution to global health security, and its capabilities will include AI-enabled vaccine discovery and design, immunology, clinical development, mRNA research and clinical manufacturing. The centre will support the development of local scientific talent, and will further advance vaccine research, development and manufacturing capabilities in the region.
Operating within Abu Dhabi's Health, Endurance, Longevity, and Medicine (HELM) Cluster, the centre will bring together scientific research, clinical infrastructure, academic expertise, enabling regulation and advanced manufacturing within a single ecosystem. By connecting discovery, validation and implementation, the centre will help accelerate the translation of scientific breakthroughs into scalable health solutions.
DoH and MSD signed a landmark collaboration to explore the feasibility of establishing a logistics hub in Abu Dhabi’s Health, Endurance, Longevity, and Medicine (HELM) Cluster. This world-class gateway will strengthen regional medical supply chain security and accelerate access to innovative health solutions, further highlighting Abu Dhabi as a resilient, future-ready life sciences hub.
Subject to the completion of implementation activities and applicable approvals, the MSD regional hub is expected to support the distribution of a broad portfolio of products across a number of regional markets. Beyond strengthening regional supply chain resilience, the hub is designed to improve access to innovative therapies and create the infrastructure required to support the commercialisation and scaling of next-generation health innovations across the region.
The agreements reflect Abu Dhabi's position as a strategic gateway for life sciences innovation and contribute to the emirate's intelligent life sciences ecosystem, where discovery, development, manufacturing and healthcare implementation come together within a single environment to accelerate impact at scale.
The multi-city visit will span San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. Throughout the mission, the delegation will engage with U.S. government entities, academic research institutions, biotechnology companies and industry leaders to explore collaboration opportunities across AI-enabled drug discovery, gene editing, gene therapies for rare and inherited diseases, healthy longevity and advanced therapeutics.
Representing the breadth of Abu Dhabi's health, investment and innovation ecosystem, DoH's high-level delegation to the United States includes stakeholders from Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), M42, Hub71, New York University Abu Dhabi, Masdar City, Khalifa University, KEZAD, PureHealth, Mubadala Bio, Arcera and Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi.
