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UCB (''Union chimique belge'') 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.〔http://www.ucb.com/investors/Financials〕 The Company's efforts are focused on treatments for severe diseases treated by specialists, particularly in the fields of central nervous system (CNS) disorders (including epilepsy), inflammatory disorders (including allergy), 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 (it was one of the first companies to distill ammonia from coal), 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'' (hydroxyzine) 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'' (cetirizine), a blockbuster antihistamine. Other important products have followed including ''Keppra'' (levetiracetam), ''Xyzal'' (levocetirizine), and ''Cimzia'' (certolizumab pegol), 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.〔UCB S.A. (Press Release of 25 September 2006 ); accessed on 12 September 2008.〕 , UCB holds approximately 87% of Schwarz's outstanding shares. The purchase of Schwarz enabled UCB to introduce two new drugs against CNS disorders: ''Neupro'' (rotigotine), a transdermal patch for treatment of Parkinson's disease and ''Vimpat'' (lacosamide), a new anticonvulsant. Another new drug of the Schwarz portfolio, ''Toviaz'' (fesoterodine), 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 (Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals) for more than $1.5 billion to two private equity firms.〔http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/ucb-sells-generics-subsidiary-for-1-525b/81250569/〕 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 ($128.38 million).〔http://www.livemint.com/Companies/zSLHr18TAt5M1ucXLaKiAN/Dr-Reddys-to-buy-select-brands-from-UCB-for-Rs800-crore.html〕〔http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/04/01/ucb-sa-dr-reddys-deals-idINKBN0MS3HK20150401〕 In September of the same year the company off loaded its generics business to Lannett for $1.23 billion.〔http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/ucb-hands-us-generics-business-lannett-123b/2015-09-03〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「UCB (company)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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