UAE pharmaceutical chief meets Moderna co-founder in New York to explore manufacturing and R&D ties

Moderna helped rewrite what was possible in vaccine development. Now the UAE wants a piece of what comes next. Saeed bin Mubarak Al Hajeri, Minister of State and Chairman of the Emirates Drug Establishment, met with Noubar Afeyan, co-founder and chairman of Moderna and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, on the sidelines of engagements in New York to discuss investment and cooperation in advanced pharmaceutical industries.

What's the news?

The two sides discussed a range of potential collaboration areas, with a focus on building the UAE's capacity in pharmaceutical manufacturing, research and development, and clinical trials. Al Hajeri and Afeyan also explored how Moderna's scientific capabilities could be matched with the commercial and regulatory advantages the UAE currently offers to international companies.

Al Hajeri made the UAE's pitch directly: the country has the infrastructure, the investment incentives, and the regulatory environment to support global pharmaceutical firms looking to grow their operations in the region. But beyond attracting companies, he stressed that developing Emirati talent in pharmaceuticals and life sciences is a core national priority, not a secondary goal.

Why does it matter?

A formal partnership with Moderna, should one materialise, would carry real weight. Flagship Pioneering, the firm Afeyan founded and leads, has built some of the most valuable biotechnology companies in the world. Moderna is its most prominent success, but the portfolio runs much deeper. Bringing that kind of scientific firepower into a formal arrangement with the UAE would go well beyond a symbolic handshake.

For the UAE, the pharmaceutical sector has become a strategic priority in ways that weren't true a decade ago. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed how dependent the region was on external supply chains for medicines and vaccines. That lesson has not been forgotten. Investments in local manufacturing capacity, regulatory reform, and clinical research infrastructure have all accelerated since 2020.

Al Hajeri's point about Emirati talent is also worth taking seriously. Attracting a foreign company to set up operations is one thing. Building the scientific workforce to sustain and eventually lead those operations is a longer and harder project. International partnerships that include genuine knowledge transfer, not just commercial licensing, are essential to that goal.

The context

This meeting sits within a much broader pattern. The UAE has been actively courting global healthcare and life sciences companies as part of its economic diversification strategy, closely tied to the ambitions outlined in its national development agenda. The Emirates Drug Establishment, which Al Hajeri chairs, has been central to that effort, working to align the UAE's pharmaceutical regulatory environment with international standards while pushing for greater domestic production.

The meeting also reflects the strategic weight the UAE places on its relationship with the United States, particularly in technology and innovation-driven sectors. Flagship Pioneering and Moderna represent exactly the kind of knowledge-based, high-value partners the UAE is seeking.

No formal agreement was announced. But meetings at this level, between a cabinet-rank official and one of the most influential figures in global biotechnology, rarely happen without serious intent on both sides.