R&D Information Centre

The discovery and development of new drugs is a lengthy and complicated process taking up to fifteen years. In this section, we aim to clarify some of the terms and processes involved that we often refer to in the drug development process.

We have also provided a glossary to define some of the scientific or medical words used on this website and elsewhere. Some words are used often but their meaning may not be obvious to you and some words are simply more complicated. We hope you will find the glossary of interest and an aid to your understanding of biopharmaceutical R&D.

Below you will find an explanation of the drug discovery and development process, NCE and NBE drug development as well as an introduction to UCB’s R&D organisation. Also included is UCB’s periodic table of the elements, one of the most comprehensive overviews available.