Pierre Fabre acquires Over-The-Counter Business of UCB in France,
Benelux, Switzerland and Greece
Castres (France) and Brussels (Belgium), January 8, 2006 at noon CET
- Pierre Fabre and UCB jointly announce that Pierre Fabre, a
pharmaceutical leader in the European Over-The-Counter (OTC) market,
has acquired the OTC business of UCB in France, Benelux, Switzerland
and Greece.
The acquisition involves certain mature products with strong brand
names (a.o. Carbolevure, Revitalose, Balsoclase, Toclase),
representing sales of approximately 18 million euros and a perfect
fit with Pierre Fabre's strategy. The transaction includes the sale
of UCB OTC assets in France, Benelux, Switzerland and Greece. UCB
will continue to manufacture and supply some of the transferred
products during a transitional period.
Furthermore, UCB and Pierre Fabre have entered into a distribution
agreement under which Pierre Fabre will pursue the active marketing
of UCB's leading anti-histamine, ZyrtecSet®, in the OTC market in
France.
Pierre-Yves Revol, Chief Executive Officer of Pierre Fabre commented,
"The acquisition of UCB's OTC business in these countries perfectly
fits Pierre Fabre's strategy of developing its healthcare division
and enlarge its portfolio with strong brands in France, as well as in
countries where the group is already well established. Both Pierre
Fabre and UCB product ranges complement each other well and the
addition of a new sales team will further increase our OTC presence
and strengthen our ties with our pharmacy partners."
Roch Doliveux, Chief Executive Officer of UCB, declared, "This
transaction is another step taken by UCB in its strategy to focus on
research-driven innovation and novel therapeutic solutions for severe
and chronic diseases. We would like to pay tribute to everyone
involved in successfully running these OTC activities and wish them
the best. Pierre Fabre is certainly the right partner to fully
exploit the potential of our portfolio of OTC products in these
countries."
About Pierre Fabre
The Pierre Fabre Group, the second largest independent laboratory in
France, employs some 8,620 people, and achieved 1.48 billion euros in
sales in 2005. Pierre Fabre Médicament, the pharmaceutical branch of
the Pierre Fabre Group, made Research and Development its core
business and the key to its future. With 1,400 employees dedicated to
R&D, Pierre Fabre Médicament invests 25% of its annual sales to R&D,
in five major therapeutic areas in terms of public health: oncology
(the priority R&D area of Pierre Fabre Médicament, with 50% of all
R&D expenses), central nervous system, cardiology, internal
medicine/urology, dermatology.
About UCB
UCB (www.ucb-group.com) is a leading global biopharmaceutical company
dedicated to the research, development and commercialisation of
innovative pharmaceutical and biotechnology products in the fields of
central nervous system disorders, allergy/respiratory diseases,
immune and inflammatory disorders and oncology - UCB focuses on
securing a leading position in severe disease categories. Employing
over 8,300 people in over 40 countries, UCB achieved revenue of 2.3
billion euro in 2005. UCB is listed on the Euronext Brussels
Exchange. Worldwide headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium.
Enquiries, please contact
Pierre Fabre
Rémi Loloum
Corporate Communications
Phone +33 5 63 71 44 64
UCB
Jean-Christophe Donck Mareike Mohr
VicePresident Associate Director Investor
Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Relations
Phone +32 2 559 9346 Phone +32 2 559 9264
For the pdf-version of this press release, please click on the link
below:
