Case studies

UCB has an established track record as a partner and has proven its ability to build successful and sustainable relationships.
The following case studies illustrate this success:

Pfizer

• UCB licensed Atarax® (hydroxyzine) to Pfizer in the 1950’s
• UCB and Pfizer signed a licensing agreement for Zyrtec® (cetirizine) for the US territory in 1987. Both companies have been successfully co-promoting Zyrtec® in the US since 1996
• The product reached blockbuster status in the US in 2002, with more than a billion dollars in sales
• In 2007, Zyrtec® sales were more than $1.5 billion in the US.

Wyeth

• UCB’s long-term development partnership with Wyeth demonstrates our successful track record in the discovery and development of antibody-based drugs
• Mylotarg® (gemtuzumab ozogamicin for injection), a pioneering treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), was successfully launched in the US and Japan 
• CMC-544 is a potent chemotherapeutic, an IgG4 antibody which delivers calicheamicin to CD22 positive cells. The compound is currently being evaluated in Phase III trials in patients with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Biogen Idec

• UCB and Biogen Idec have collaborated on the research, development and commercialisation of antibodies targeting against the CD40 ligand (CD40L) protein for the treatment of autoimmune diseases since 2004
• UCB and Biogen Idec announced a global collaboration to jointly develop and commercialise CDP323 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other potential indications in October 2006. CDP323, an orally active small molecule alpha4-integrin inhibitor, entered Phase II clinical trials in 2007.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals

• UCB licensed European sales and marketing rights to Xyrem® (sodium oxybate) from Jazz Pharmaceuticals in October 2003
• In 2006, the companies agreed to expand the collaboration to include fibromyalgia syndrome (phase III clinical trials ongoing). In addition, the agreement doubles, from twenty-seven to fifty-four, the number of countries in which UCB has commercialisation rights to Xyrem®
• In December 2005, UCB launched Xyrem® in Europe for the treatment of cataplexy in adult patients
• In March 2007, Xyrem® became the first and only European Commission-approved medicine for the treatment of narcolepsy with cataplexy in adult patients.