Georges Jacobs announces that he will resign from his executive post on January 1, 2005

Brussels, September 3, 2004 – Following the successful acquisition of Celltech, which was a major milestone in the strategic refocusing of UCB on activities with rapid growth and high margins, Georges Jacobs, Chairman of the Executive Committee, has decided to step back from the daily management of the Group, as he is nearing his 65th birthday. Georges Jacobs has been the Chairman of the Executive Committee since 1987. The Board of Directors expresses its gratitude to Georges Jacobs for distinguished services rendered to UCB and appoints him on January 1, 2005, as Chairman of the Board of Directors, where he will replace Mark Eyskens who has reached the age limit for this position. The Board of Directors will appoint Roch Doliveux, currently Deputy Chairman and CEO of UCB Pharma, as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the UCB Group on January 1, 2005.

Georges Jacobs said: "It is with great emotion, but also with confidence that I will withdraw from the daily management of the Group to which I have dedicated the best part of my career. I know that under the management of Roch Doliveux, whose qualities and vision we have all witnessed, UCB will successfully take up the new challenge that is the progressive development of one of the very first global bio-pharmaceutical groups."

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