M42 and Arcera sign biopharma localisation MoU to deepen Abu Dhabi’s life sciences ecosystem

M42, the Abu Dhabi-headquartered global health company powered by technology, artificial intelligence and genomics, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Arcera Life Sciences to advance biopharma localisation, clinical development and next-generation healthcare innovation in the Emirate, the two companies announced on 3 June.

The strategic, non-exclusive collaboration will see Arcera query M42’s genomics database to assess disease prevalence across specific genetic and rare diseases, combining that intelligence with M42’s data platforms and healthcare delivery capabilities and Arcera’s expertise in late-stage drug development, market access and commercialisation.

Dr Fahad Al Marzooqi, Chief Executive Officer of M42 Integrated Health Solutions, positioned the agreement within a wider strategy of selective alliances. “This partnership with Arcera reflects M42’s strategic role in strengthening Abu Dhabi’s life sciences ecosystem through targeted, high-impact partnerships,” he said. “By combining our capabilities in AI and healthcare delivery with Arcera’s expertise, we are supporting the advancement of biopharma capabilities in the Emirate, expanding clinical development opportunities and enabling the effective translation of innovation into patient care.”

The agreement draws genomic insights from programmes supported by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, including the Emirati Genome Programme, to support precision medicine and next-generation treatments such as cell and gene therapies. Both companies are Abu Dhabi-based, and the tie-up is structured to accelerate innovative therapies into the region rather than to set abstract goals, with the genomics intelligence feeding directly into Arcera’s late-stage development and market access work.

Isabel Afonso, Chief Executive Officer of Arcera Life Sciences, said the arrangement brought together complementary strengths across the national ecosystem. “This collaboration between two Abu Dhabi–based life sciences companies reflects the strength of the national ecosystem, bringing together innovation, manufacturing, and patient access to deliver sustainable patient impact,” she said.

Four pillars give the partnership operational substance

The collaboration is built around four areas of work rather than a single mandate. Genomics-informed therapeutic development will draw on insights generated through DoH-supported national health and research programmes, paired with M42’s data platforms and Arcera’s late-stage development capabilities to advance precision medicine. Clinical development acceleration will support late-phase trials, strengthen evidence generation and widen patient access to new treatments.

Advanced biobanking, stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine will rely on infrastructure such as Abu Dhabi Biobank, while a fourth pillar embeds AI and digital tools across the life sciences value chain to lift development efficiency. The companies intend the pillars to serve both immediate opportunities and longer-term capability building.

A regulator-backed bid to position Abu Dhabi as a life sciences hub

The collaboration aligns with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi’s drive to establish the Emirate as a global centre for life sciences innovation, contributing to an integrated ecosystem that spans clinical development and innovative therapeutics aimed at genetic and rare diseases. Dr Asma Al Mannaei, Executive Director of the Health Life Sciences Sector at DoH, said the regulator’s groundwork in data infrastructure, genomics and clinical research had created the conditions for such partnerships.

“We welcome this collaboration as a reflection of the Emirate’s growing life sciences capabilities and its ambition to become a global hub for health innovation,” she said, adding that the authority’s work across regulation, health data infrastructure and genomics insights was helping partners accelerate biopharma development and support future treatments for genetic and rare diseases.

The scale of the two organisations underpins the agreement’s reach. M42, established in 2023 through the merger of G42 Healthcare and Mubadala Health, operates more than 480 facilities across 26 countries with over 20,000 employees, and counts Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Moorfields Eye Hospital Abu Dhabi and Imperial College London Diabetes Centre among its providers.

Arcera, established by sovereign investor ADQ, reaches patients in more than 90 markets with manufacturing and packaging facilities in eight countries and a portfolio exceeding 2,000 medicines. The two companies will establish a framework for evaluating joint opportunities, identifying priority use cases and enabling collaboration across development and commercialisation, reinforcing M42’s role as a research and implementation partner at scale and Arcera’s position across late-stage development, regulation, manufacturing and commercialisation, while strengthening Abu Dhabi’s standing as an integrated health innovation ecosystem.