UCB Establishes Innovative Collaboration with Harvard University

Brussels, 28 February 2011 – UCB announced today that it has concluded an innovative research collaboration agreement with Harvard University. UCB will bring its expertise on antibody generation and medicinal chemistry into the alliance and will provide up to $6 million over two years to fund specific innovative research projects led by Harvard scientists. The collaboration focuses on Central Nervous System (CNS) and immunology, two key research domains for UCB.

This collaborative alliance will advance ongoing Harvard research projects along the drug development pathway and therefore creates a unique drug discovery bridge between industry and academia, with Harvard scientists continuing their research that holds potential for the development of new therapeutic modalities in clinical medicine.

“The aim of our alliance with Harvard is to create a two-way exchange of knowledge and expertise that will facilitate the successful development of innovative new drugs. This collaboration is the latest milestone in our new innovation model in UCB NewMedicines,” says Ismail Kola, President of UCB NewMedicines™.

UCB’s new innovation model aims to capitalize on external scientific advances, resources and expertise through dedicated collaborations that complement its unique internal capabilities.

Harvard and UCB will have regular selection meetings to determine which other ongoing Harvard projects to fund during the collaboration. The first research project funded under the Harvard-UCB alliance is a collaboration with Professor Gökhan S. Hotamisligil, M.D., Ph.D., Chair, Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, to generate and develop antibodies against an exciting target with potential application in a range of diseases including diabetes and metabolic disorders.

“We are delighted to enter into this innovative collaboration with UCB, one of many sought by Harvard which joins together leaders in academia and industry to expedite groundbreaking research more rapidly from the lab to the clinic,” said Isaac T. Kohlberg, Harvard’s Chief Technology Development Officer and head of its Office of Technology Development. “It exemplifies Harvard’s growing commitment to collaborate with industry in creative ways that will advance the boundaries of translational research, thereby realizing our core mission to serve the public interest”

For further information
Nancy Nackaerts, External Communications, UCB
T +32.473.864.414, nancy.nackaerts@ucb.com

Antje Witte, Investor Relations, UCB
T +32.2.559.9414, antje.witte@ucb.com

Michael Tuck-Sherman, Investor Relations, UCB
T +32.2.559.9712, Michael.tuck-sherman@ucb.com

Notes to the editor

About UCB
UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines and solutions to transform the lives of people living with severe diseases of the immune system or of the central nervous system. With more than 8 000 people in about 40 countries, the company generated revenue of EUR 3.1 billion in 2009. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol: UCB).

About UCB NewMedicines
UCB NewMedicines is UCB’s research and early development division, encompassing activities from discovery research through to clinical Proof of Concept. With scientific excellence and innovation at its core, UCB NewMedicines is focused on ensuring delivery of de-risked and differentiated molecules into full development. UCB NewMedicines™ is structured around two European ‘research hubs’, Braine-l’Alleud (Belgium) focusing on CNS diseases and Slough (U.K.) focusing on immunological disorders

About Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development
The Harvard Office of Technology Development (OTD) is responsible for all activities pertaining to the evaluation, patenting and licensing of new inventions and discoveries made at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School. OTD also serves to further the development of Harvard technologies through the establishment of sponsored research collaborations with industry. OTD’s mission is to promote the public good by fostering innovation and translating new inventions made at Harvard into useful products available and beneficial to society.

Forward looking statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current plans, estimates and beliefs of management. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those that may be implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Important factors that could result in such differences include: changes in general economic, business and competitive conditions, effects of future judicial decisions, changes in regulation, exchange rate fluctuations and hiring and retention of employees.