LIFEPharma pledges $200m for UAE domestic medicines industry

LIFEPharma, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based VPS Healthcare, has agreed to invest AED700 million ($191 million) to establish a pharmaceutical manufacturing platform at Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (Kezad).

The memorandum of understanding was signed with Abu Dhabi-listed AD Ports on the inaugural day of Make it in the Emirates 2026. 

LIFEPharma is the only US Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmaceutical manufacturer in the UAE. It will lead the proposed manufacturing platform, offering technical, regulatory, and commercial development, it said in a statement.

AD Ports will facilitate access to land, infrastructure, utilities and relevant government coordination. 

The partnership is part of the UAE’s Operation 300bn, the industrial strategy launched in 2021 that aims to reduce reliance on oil by boosting manufacturing, exports, and high-tech industries and increase the sector’s contribution to GDP from AED133 billion to AED 300 billion by 2031.

The new Kezad platform will expand locally based production capacity across three complementary streams. AED300 million is allocated for a fill-and-finish facility for pediatric and adult vaccines, AED200 million for cancer treatments and another AED200 million for peptides, biologics and critical injectables.

Collectively, the platform is expected to have an AED2 billion impact on GDP over its lifecycle and create more than 1,000 jobs.

• Conflict accelerates shift to local production in UAE
• Turkey reveals domestic tax support and overseas incentives
• Oman signs car factory deal with China’s Spruce

VPS Health is an investment holding company founded by Dr Shamsheer Vayalil. Its other portfolio companies include Burjeel Holdings, Response Plus Medical and Ziva, a UAE-based hygiene and consumer health manufacturer. 

The company, which operates across the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia and India, employs more than 18,000 people.

In April 2025, Abu Dhabi launched the Helm cluster – health, endurance, longevity and medicine – bringing together global companies focused on preventive care, drug efficacy and human longevity.

The government forecasts that the cluster will contribute more than AED94 billion to the emirate’s GDP in the next two decades and create 30,000 new jobs by 2045.