The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), the regulator of the healthcare sector in the Emirate, and Novartis have announced the initiation of the Abu Dhabi Clinical Trials Hub through Novartis global Phase 3 programmes across neuroscience, cardiovascular disease, oncology, and immunology.
Announced during the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit 2026, the milestone marks an important step in connecting Abu Dhabi's established clinical research capabilities with global clinical development programmes, creating new opportunities for local investigators and eligible patients to participate in innovative clinical research.
The milestone builds on two years of collaboration between DoH and Novartis following the Memorandrum of Understanding signed on 5 June 2024. During this period, the partnership has supported closer collaboration across clinical research, evidence generation, healthcare innovation and capability development, laying a foundation for the activation of global Phase 3 programmes in Abu Dhabi.
The activation will be supported by continued efforts to strengthen investigator and research-site preparedness, enable efficient study start-up and initiation, and imrpove pathways for identifying and referring eligible patients. Individual studies and participating sites will remain subject to applicable feasibility assessments and regulatory, ethics, and institutional approvals.
