UCB Inaugurates North American Pharma Headquarters.

Brussels, May 9, 2003 - UCB inaugurated today its new North American Headquarters building in Smyrna (Atlanta), which houses the operational head offices of UCB Pharma Inc. and Surface Specialties. 

The new 110,000-square-foot facility is part of a five-building, 45-acre campus. It will house some 300 people. The total investment for the new building amounted to $17 million. 

The UCB Group has grown rapidly in the United-States. Today the workforce numbers 1,535 people, of which 425 in Atlanta. The Pharma sector has 929 employees, Surface Specialties 538 and Central Services 68. The United States represent a turnover of $ 950 million, the Group's total sales amounting to $ 3 billion. 

The Pharma sector has progressively increased its sales force on the American market : the team now comprises 660 medical representatives. The antiallergic Zyrtec discovered by UCB has been introduced into the United States in February 1996, in co-promotion with Pfizer. In 2000, UCB successfully launched the anti-epileptic Keppra. UCB Pharma also has a Discovery center in Boston and a Development team in Atlanta, a total of 140 scientists focused on the two fields selected by UCB : allergy/asthma and neurology. 

UCB is also, through its Bioproducts activities, a world leader in the manufacture of peptides, used as active ingredients in new medicines, for which the Unites States are the main market. US locations include a development laboratory and a manufacturing plant. 

Surface Specialties, the non-pharmaceutical sector of UCB, has its main American commercial office in Atlanta and production plants in North Augusta and Langley (South Carolina), in Springfield (Massachusetts) and in Tecumseh (Kansas). 

Contact
Alain Douxchamps - 
Global Communication ManagerFax: 32-(0)2-559.95.71
alain.douxchamps@ucb-group.com