UCB opening bio pilot plant in Belgium

A new production facility is being opened by UCB in Belgium to speed up the process of manufacturing cell cultures for clinical trials.

UCB has announced the opening of a new biologics pilot production plant in Belgium, at the company's Braine-L'Alleud site.

The production facility's inauguration marks an important milestone for the firm, as it seeks to position itself as a leader in the market for patient-centric biopharma products focused on severe central nervous system and immune system diseases.

UCB will use the facility to produce cell culture-based therapeutic proteins for new biotechnology drugs to be used in research and clinical trials by the company.

It will also focus on ways of optimising manufacturing processes to cut costs as products move from development to full-scale industrial production.

"By reinforcing its presence in biotechnology, UCB is equipping itself for the future," said Roch Doliveux, chief executive of UCB.

"Today, 33 per cent of drugs for human use worldwide are of biotechnological origin and represent more than half of UCB's current R&D pipeline."

He added that the bio pilot plant will allow the company to "rapidly initiate clinical studies" of new antibody-based therapies.