UCB is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Brussels,
Belgium. UCB is an international company with revenues of €3.3 billion that
focuses primarily on R&D, specifically involving medications centered on
Epilepsy, Parkinson's, & Crohn's diseases. The Company's efforts are
focused on treatments for severe diseases treated by specialists,
particularly in the fields of central nervous system disorders, inflammatory
disorders, and oncology. Every 3 years, the company presents the
UCB Award under the patronage of the Queen Elisabeth Medical Foundation to
promote neuroscience research. The winner of this award is selected by an
independent scientific committee. History
UCB was founded on 18 January 1928 by Emmanuel Janssen, a Belgian businessman.
Initially focused on industrial chemicals, the company also included a
small pharmaceutical division based around Meurice Laboratories.
In the early 1950s, UCB set up a research centre where new medicines such
as Atarax were developed. Successful sales enabled the pharmaceutical
division to expand, and led to the discovery of another important compound,
called piracetam. This was marketed in the 1970s as Nootropil and used to treat
memory and balance problems. It remains one of UCB's key products. At this time,
UCB was a company focusing on three core areas: pharmaceuticals, chemicals and
films. The success of Nootropil made it
possible for UCB to build a modern pharmaceutical site in Braine-l'Alleud,
south of Brussels. There, UCB developed Zyrtec, a blockbuster antihistamine.
Other important products have followed including Keppra, Xyzal, and Cimzia,
which was acquired through the acquisition of Celltech.
At the end of 2002, the chemicals and films divisions were merged and UCB
added the resins, additives and adhesives activities of Solutia, to form
the surface specialties division. The films part has since been sold to
Innovia Films in September 2004. The chemicals division, Methylamines and
Derivatives was spun off and later sold to form the company Taminco.
In May 2004, UCB acquired the British biotechnology company Celltech, followed
in March 2005 by the sale of the surface specialties to Cytec Industries. By
divesting all of its non-pharmaceutical activities, and acquiring Celltech, UCB
transformed itself into a global biopharmaceutical company.
In 2006, UCB started the purchase of the German pharmaceutical company Schwarz
for €4.4 billion. As of July 2007, UCB holds approximately 87% of Schwarz's
outstanding shares. The purchase of Schwarz enabled UCB to introduce two new
drugs against CNS disorders: Neupro, a transdermal patch for treatment of
Parkinson's disease and Vimpat, a new anticonvulsant. Another new drug of the
Schwarz portfolio, Toviaz, a compound to treat overactive bladder, was licensed
to Pfizer in 2006. In November 2014, UCB announced its
intention to sell of its generics subsidiary for more than $1.5 billion to
two private equity firms. In 2015, UCB announced the sale of its
branded generics business in India and South Asia to Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
for INR 8 billion. In September of the same year the company off loaded its
generics business to Lannett for $1.23 billion.
Notable drugs developed by UCB Atarax
Nootropil Zyrtec, an OTC antihistamine.
Keppra, an anticonvulsant medication used to treat epilepsy.
Xyzal, a third-generation non-sedative antihistamine.
Cimzia, a monoclonal antibody to TNF-α for the treatment of Crohn's disease and
rheumatoid arthritis. Neupro, a transdermal patch for
treatment of Parkinson's disease. Vimpat, an anticonvulsant.
Atamet® for Parkinson's disease Corporate governance
As of 2014, Roch Doliveux was CEO of UCB, having started in this role in
about 2004. Jean-Christophe Tellier, an executive vice president with the
company, will become CEO at the beginning of 2015.
Operations UCB has operations in over 40 countries
and employs more than 8500 people. The United States specialty generics
subsidiary was Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals, established in 1904 and
based in Princeton, New Jersey. By November 2015, Lannett Company had
acquired Kremers for US$1.23 billion. Scandals
UCB was fined 10.4 million Euros by the EU for its involvement in a Vitamin B4
price fixing cartel. UCB was fined $34 million dollars in the US for fraud
arising from the mispromotion of Keppra for migraines, despite company research
showing it was ineffective for this purpose. Most recently, UCB has been
investigated by Chinese authorities for corruption and bribery.
References External links
Official website Presscentre.com