History of Financière de Tubize and UCB
1928
Financière de Tubize becomes part of the Janssen family
1928
Creation of UCB
1961
Financière de Tubize becomes a UCB shareholder for the first time
1972
UCB launches NOOTROPIL (cerebral function regulator) thanks to the network of recently created subsidiaries, mainly European, giving access to the specific regulatory features of the national markets
1981
Financière de Tubize buys half the UCB securities held by Rhône-Poulenc. The other half are taken over by the Royale Belge
1989
UCB launches Zyrtec (antiallergenic antihistamine), the first drug to record a turnover of one billion US dollars
2000
UCB launches Keppra (antiepileptic), the first drug put on the market in the USA directly by UCB and the second drug to record a turnover of one billion US dollars
2002
After the gradual takeover of UCB shares held by the Royale Belge, the holding of Financière de Tubize in UCB peaks at 40% in 2002
2004
UCB launches a friendly public takeover bid (for € 2.3 billion) on Celltech, an English biopharma company that holds the future CIMZIA (rheumatoid polyarthritis and Crohn’s disease), which will subsequently exceed a turnover of one billion US dollars), and a research platform for particularly effective monoclonal antibodies
2005
UCB focuses on the pharmaceutical sector, selling its Films sector (2004) and Chemicals sector (2005)
2006
Financière de Tubize borrows € 100 million in order to support UCB with the acquisition of Schwarz Pharma by taking part in the UCB capital increase
2006
UCB launches a friendly bid (€ 4.4 billion) on the German multinational pharmaceutical group Schwarz Pharma that holds the future Vimpat (epilepsy) and Neupro (Parkinson’s)
2019
UCB acquires Ra Pharmaceuticals Inc. (€ 2.2 billion), an American biopharma company that holds ZILUCOPLAN (peptide inhibitor that can be used in particular to treat gravis myasthenia) as well as an exclusive new technological platform increasing UCB’s research capacity
2020
UCB acquires Handl Therapeutics BV and the partnership with Lacerta Therapeutics enhance UCB’s gene therapy capabilities
2021
UCB launches BIMZELX (plaque psoriasis) in Europe and Japan
2022
UCB acquires Zogenix Inc. (€ 1.7 million), a worldwide biopharmaceutical company based in the US that develops and markets treatments for rare diseases and holds FINTEPLA (treatment approved in the US for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome)
2023
UCB launches BIMZELX in the United States
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