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New cutting-edge ‘robotic’ platform to accelerate drug discovery

Posted by
Scott Fleming, UK Communications
09-Jan-2014
At UCB, we are open to innovation wherever it can be found. If technology can speed up our drug development work, increasing our capacity to bring new therapies to patients, we seize the opportunity.

A new multi-million robotic platform for our UK immunology research centre of excellence is the latest example of an investment designed to keep us at the cutting-edge of life science research and reinforces our position as a science skills leader.

At the heart of this investment is an automated antibody discovery platform, designed and built especially for UCB by UK-based robotic laboratory experts company Peak Analysis & Automation Ltd (PAA). This is a wonderful example of a leader in science choosing to partner with a high-tech scientific manufacturing company to strengthen the UK’s world class science offering.

Acknowledgement of this investment was made by the UK Government when British Prime Minister David Cameron cited our company as a positive example of inward investment in the UK life sciences sector.
 
The new equipment will help our scientists to generate, select, produce and evaluate new human antibody-based medicines for patients. This should shorten the time it takes to develop potential new medicines and improve clinical success rates.

Embracing this pioneering new robotic technology ensures our ability to develop exciting novel and effective treatments, making UCB’s UK research capabilities more competitive in the global race for drug development.

Far from being UCB’s only major investment in the UK, this is just one of several projects which show the company’s commitment to research and innovation.

For example, we support over 40 UK PhD studentships which will help build relationships between academic and industry scientists. We run an annual Work in Science Week in the UK to give young people real-world experience of research careers.

We collaborate with top universities, including Oxford University and Imperial College London, to advance scientific understanding of severe diseases.

As was discussed in this magazine, last November, UCB is a leader in R&D spending. This latest collaboration demonstrates our willingness to invest in smart new technologies which we believe will deliver for patients in the year ahead.  

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