UCB (company)
| UCB SA
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | Société Anonyme |
| ISIN | BE0003739530 |
| founding | 1928 |
| Seat |
Anderlecht , Belgium
|
| management |
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| Number of employees | 7,489 (2018) |
| sales | 4,632 million euros (2018) |
| Branch | Pharmaceutical industry |
| Website | www.ucb.com |
UCB ( Euronext and BEL20 ) is a Belgian pharmaceutical and biotechnology company focused on the research, development and commercialization of medicines for diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), respiratory tract , internal medicine and diseases of the immune system .
The company's headquarters are located in Brussels ( Belgium ). In 2010 UCB employed around 8,900 people and achieved sales of around 3.2 billion euros.
history
The company was founded in 1928 by the Belgian businessman Emmanuel Janssen as Union Chimique Belge . Originally the company was mainly active in the chemical sector, but already had a small pharmaceutical department around Meurice Laboratories.
In the early 1950s UCB intensified pharmaceutical research and developed a. a. Atarax ( hydroxyzine ). The pharmaceutical sector grew rapidly. The discovery of the active ingredient piracetam also contributed to this. Piracetam has been marketed as a nootropil for treating memory and balance problems since the 1970s . Nootropil has long been one of the top UCB products.
The growth of the pharmaceutical sector led to the establishment of the Braine-l'Alleud research and production site south of Brussels. There were u. a. discovered and developed the hydroxyzine derivatives and antihistamines cetirizine ( Zyrtec ) and levocetirizine ( Xusal ), as well as the piracetam derivative and anticonvulsant levetiracetam ( Keppra ). Keppra and Zyrtec are UCB's top-selling products today.
For several years now, UCB has focused on the biopharmaceutical business. The remaining parts of the chemicals division were sold by 2005. At the same time, UCB acquired the British biotechnology company Celltech in 2004 and the German pharmaceutical company Schwarz Pharma AG in 2006 .
present
Through the acquisition of Celltech and Schwarz UCB has three new at the beginning of the 21st century drugs for approval to bring:
- the dopamine agonist rotigotine ( Neupro ) as a transdermal patch for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and restless legs syndrome
- the monoclonal antibody certolizumab ( Cimzia ) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and the intestinal disease Crohn's disease ,
- as well as the anticonvulsant lacosamide ( Vimpat )
Advanced development candidates include a. Lacosamide as a pain reliever or the anticonvulsant brivaracetam .
With a sales share of 47%, Europe is the largest market for UCB, followed by North America with 40%.
Web links
- Official website of UCB Germany