UCB commits major US biologics manufacturing investment

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UCB is planning a major manufacturing investment that is expected to provide a significant economic impact of approximately $5 billion in the US. The biopharmaceutical company intends to expand its biologics manufacturing capacity with a new facility in the country.

This supports future medicine delivery and a more resilient and sustainable supply chain, according to UCB. The firm added that it is actively working to scale up its US-based contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) partnerships to ensure support for production of its growth drivers and future pipeline.

The commitment also aligns with the company’s goal of serving the growing patient population in the US. UCB expects that this latest investment will offer wider benefit through “increased economic activity, partnerships, and job creation”.

“By expanding our biologics manufacturing footprint, we’re not only reinforcing our global supply chain—we’re also contributing to the vitality of biomedical innovation, high-skilled jobs, and long-term economic impact in the US,” stated UCB’s CEO Jean-Christophe Tellier. 

Enhancing biologics manufacturing in the US

Ensuring UCB’s long-term economic impact

While the new facility is anticipated to generate around 300 new, highly skilled jobs, in, UCB is yet to determine the exact location of the new biologics manufacturing site.

Since 2017, the firm’s workforce in the US has expanded by 73 percent, facilitating 15 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals or indication expansions. UCB highlighted that eight of these have been granted in the past two years.

In March, the company announced promising Phase III trial results for three drugs being investigated to treat plaque psoriasis, including two biologics. For example, data from the BE BRIGHT study found that over a five-year duration, of a subset of patients from the second extension of the trial, 67.7 percent achieved sustained complete skin clearance with BIMZELX^® (bimekizumab-bkzx).