Eli Lilly sponsors the one GLP-1 study active at a UAE site, out of 15 registered

Eli Lilly and Mubadala Bio have signed a deal for advance pharma contract manufacturing in Abu Dhabi, according to a UAE Business report. The report as summarised does not say which medicines the deal covers.

What the data shows

Eli Lilly already has a research footprint in the UAE. It sponsors the only study of GLP-1 and related incretin medicines that is recruiting or active at a UAE site, Zavis analysis of the US National Library of Medicine's ClinicalTrials.gov registry shows. It is a Phase 3 study of orforglipron, recruiting at sites in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

That single study sits against 15 registered studies of these medicines with a UAE site, all time. Saudi Arabia also has 15, and 5 of them are recruiting or active now. Kuwait has 8 studies on record, with 4 recruiting or active. Across the GCC, the Zavis GLP-1 and Peptides Monitor counts 35 registered studies, of which 10 are recruiting or active and 7 are recruiting now.

Studies of GLP-1 and related medicines with a site in each GCC country

Country	Studies (all time)	Recruiting or active now
United Arab Emirates	15	1
Saudi Arabia	15	5
Qatar	2	1
Kuwait	8	4
Bahrain	0	0
Oman	0	0

GLP-1 and related studies recruiting or active at GCC sites

Registry ID	Medicines	Lead sponsor	Phase	Status	GCC countries
NCT07614412	semaglutide	Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia	Phase 2	Not yet recruiting	Saudi Arabia
NCT07613307	orforglipron	Eli Lilly and Company	Phase 3	Recruiting	United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia
NCT07574723	tirzepatide	Dasman Diabetes Institute	Not applicable	Recruiting	Kuwait
NCT07096908	tirzepatide	Dasman Diabetes Institute	Phase 4	Recruiting	Kuwait
NCT06885736	Class named, no medicine	Dasman Diabetes Institute	Not applicable	Recruiting	Kuwait
NCT06632457	survodutide	Boehringer Ingelheim	Phase 3	Recruiting	Saudi Arabia
NCT06632444	survodutide	Boehringer Ingelheim	Phase 3	Recruiting	Saudi Arabia
NCT06571383	semaglutide	Novo Nordisk A/S	Phase 4	Active not recruiting	Saudi Arabia
NCT06374875	Class named, no medicine	The Cleveland Clinic	Phase 4	Recruiting	Kuwait
NCT02879409	liraglutide	Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar	Not applicable	Active not recruiting	Qatar

Orforglipron also appears in the public records of US and EU regulators. The US Food and Drug Administration approved a labeling supplement for Foundayo (orforglipron) on 4 August 2026. In the European Medicines Agency's centralised register, Foundayo is the 1 GLP-1 and related medicine with a committee opinion awaiting a marketing authorisation decision.

In the 90 days to 21 October 2026, the FDA approved 8 submissions for GLP-1 medicines. Of these, 3 were efficacy supplements, covering 2 medicines: Mounjaro and Zepbound, both tirzepatide. There were 0 original generic approvals. The EU has 13 GLP-1 and related medicines authorised through its centralised procedure, and 4 were first authorised in the last 12 months.

US FDA approvals for GLP-1 medicines in the last 90 days

Date	Medicine	Application	Approval	Category	Submissions
2 October 2026	Exenatide synthetic (exenatide)	ANDA206697	Supplement	Labeling	3
27 August 2026	Ozempic (semaglutide)	NDA209637	Supplement	Labeling	1
27 August 2026	Mounjaro (tirzepatide)	NDA215866	Supplement	Efficacy	2
26 August 2026	Zepbound (tirzepatide)	NDA217806	Supplement	Efficacy	1
4 August 2026	Foundayo (orforglipron)	NDA220934	Supplement	Labeling	1

Supply entries remain on the US record. The FDA drug shortage list shows 9 GLP-1 presentations as current shortages and 5 as to be discontinued, all liraglutide injections or semaglutide tablets. That list describes the US market, not supply in the UAE or the GCC.

Demand context comes from World Health Organization estimates. In 2024, 31.6% of UAE adults had obesity on an age-standardised basis, against 42% in Qatar and 40.4% in Kuwait.

Registered research is far thinner outside approved GLP-1 medicines. Five peptides with no US approval on record (thymosin beta-4 or TB-500, BPC-157, ipamorelin, GHK-Cu and CJC-1295) have 29 registered studies worldwide combined. Semaglutide alone has 788.

Registered studies on ClinicalTrials.gov: GLP-1 medicines and other peptides

Substance	Registered studies worldwide	With results posted	US approval on record (Drugs@FDA)
Semaglutide	788	109	Yes
Tirzepatide	303	47	Yes
Tesamorelin	24	10	Yes
Sermorelin	27	11	Yes
Thymosin beta-4 (TB-500)	18	8	No
BPC-157	4	0	No
Ipamorelin	3	0	No
GHK-Cu (copper peptide)	3	0	No
CJC-1295	1	0	No

What it means

For investors, the deal adds a manufacturing link between Eli Lilly and Abu Dhabi. Lilly already appears in the UAE's clinical research record. Whether the agreement touches GLP-1 medicines is not stated in the report.

For hospital groups and research sites, the registry shows a gap. The UAE matches Saudi Arabia on studies on record but has fewer recruiting or active now. That shapes how much trial work local sites can expect to host.

For patients and clinics, the US shortage and discontinuation entries are a reminder to check local stock with a pharmacy before relying on a specific presentation. Registered studies show research activity, not proof that a medicine works or is safe. Decisions about any medicine belong with a licensed doctor.